U.S. forces have struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two people whom the Pentagon said were involved in drug trafficking.
The U.S. Southern Command announced the strike in a social media post early Monday. The latest deaths bring the toll from the Trump administration’s campaign of strikes against boats off Latin America’s Caribbean coast and in the eastern Pacific to more than 210, following over 60 attacks.
The Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere “executed a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific,” the statement said.
Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illegal drugs, it added.
“We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists -- disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership, and eliminating cartel terror across the region,” said Gen. Francis Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command.
The latest strike came days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. would expand its offensive to land operations in several Latin American countries.
During a visit to Panama, Hegseth said Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the U.S. to conduct joint military operations against criminal groups on their territory. Guatemala, however, denied reaching such an agreement.
Ecuador began similar joint missions with the United States in March.