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The U.S. military carried out a lethal strike Tuesday on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing an alleged narco-terrorist, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
“On May 26, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the post continued.
The military said one alleged narco-terrorist was killed in the strike and two others survived.
U.S. Southern Command said a military strike targeted a suspected narco-trafficking vessel operating along a known drug route in the Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Southern Command)
SOUTHCOM said it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to begin search-and-rescue operations for the survivors.
No U.S. forces were injured, the military said.
SOUTHCOM did not immediately release additional information about those targeted in the operation.
US MILITARY KILLS 3 IN LATEST STRIKE ON A SUSPECTED DRUG VESSEL IN THE PACIFIC
The U.S. military said one suspected narco-terrorist was killed during an operation targeting a vessel in the Eastern Pacific. (U.S. Southern Command)
The U.S. military has carried out multiple strikes in recent months targeting suspected drug-smuggling vessels as part of a broader campaign aimed at dismantling cartel-linked trafficking operations.
Tuesday’s strike followed similar operations earlier this month.
SOUTHCOM said it targeted another vessel in the Eastern Pacific on May 8, killing two male narco-terrorists and leaving one survivor. Days earlier, the military conducted another strike in the Caribbean that killed two suspected traffickers.
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(L/R) U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Francis L. Donovan, nominee for Commander of U.S. Southern Command, and U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Joshua M. Rudd, nominee for Director of the National Security Agency, Chief of Central Security Service, and Command of U.S. Cyber Command, testify during a Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on their nominations on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 15, 2026. (Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images)
The Eastern Pacific and Caribbean are major corridors for narcotics trafficking, with cartels often using small, fast-moving vessels to transport drugs toward the United States and Central America.
SOUTHCOM oversees military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions focused on disrupting drug trafficking networks tied to organized crime groups.