U.S. Strike Kills Three on Suspected Drug Boat in Caribbean

The U.S. military conducted a strike on a boat in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, killing three people aboard a vessel it accused of drug smuggling. The action, ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan, head of U.S. Southern Command, marked the latest in a campaign that has resulted in at least 181 deaths since early September.

U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean from its base near Miami, stated that the boat was traveling along known narcotrafficking routes and was involved in smuggling operations. The command released a video on social media showing the vessel moving through the water before an explosion engulfed it in flames. Officials cited unspecified intelligence as the basis for the strike but provided no evidence that the boat was carrying drugs at the time.

This incident was the 52nd such operation in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration's broader effort to combat what it describes as narcoterrorism in the Western Hemisphere. The strikes have accelerated in recent weeks, even amid ongoing U.S. involvement in the war with Iran, signaling a sustained focus on disrupting maritime drug...