1 killed, 2 survive U.S. strike on boat in eastern Pacific, SOUTHCOM says

The latest U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat killed one and left two survivors in the eastern Pacific, U.S. Southern Command said Tuesday night.

As with previous strikes, SOUTHCOM alleged on social media that the boat was “operated by Designated Terrorist Organization,” was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” and was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The military’s post included video, which showed a strike on a boat, which appeared to break into two smoldering pieces. 

SOUTHCOM said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”

The Trump administration’s campaign of striking boats it claims are trafficking drugs in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, began in early September. At least 193 people have been killed in the campaign. 

The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs. A spokesperson for U.S. Southern Command previously told CBS News: “For operational security reasons, we cannot discuss specific sources or methods.”

President Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. Earlier this month, the White House announced Mr. Trump had signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration’s highest priority.

Mr. Trump has also sought to press regional leaders to work more closely with the U.S. to target cartels and take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an “unacceptable threat” to the hemisphere’s national security.

Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.

The first attack in the campaign occurred on Sept. 2. In early December, however, the Trump administration came under heavy scrutiny after it confirmed a Washington Post report that in that Sept. 2 attack, the U.S. had conducted a follow-on strike, or “double tap,” that killed two survivors of the initial strike on the vessel.

Some lawmakers questioned whether the follow-on strike constituted a war crime.