Home lifestyle Boats and Planes US Military Hits Drug Boats, 1...

US Military Hits Drug Boats, 11 Dead in Strikes

Boats and Planes

Business Honor
18 February, 2026

US military carried out three strikes on drug‑smuggling boats in the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in 11 deaths.

The U.S. Southern Command has confirmed that on Tuesday, it performed three deadly strikes against alleged drug smuggling vessels in both the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean. The strikes resulted in the deaths of at least 11 people: 4 people on each of the 2 vessels struck in the eastern Pacific and 3 people on the third vessel struck in the Caribbean, according to a statement released by Southern Command’s social media feed.

The attacks were conducted as part of Operation Southern Spear, a maritime campaign begun in September 2017 under the Trump Administration and intended to target the types of small ocean-going vessels often used to smuggle drugs into the United States. The total casualties associated with the operation as a result of vessel strikes from air and sea now exceed 145 dead, and there have been over 40 separate operations conducted in international waters off the coasts of Central and South America.

According to a statement released by Southern Command, the military found intelligence that the vessels were travelling along established narco-trafficking routes and that the individuals onboard the vessels were identified as “narco-terrorists." Many critics of this campaign have condemned Operation Southern Spear as the commission of extrajudicial murders at sea. With some questioning whether the use of deadly force was lawful or justified without the presence of clear evidence of drug trafficking activity.

Although the military has produced video showing the bombing of the vessels, no photos have been made available to substantiate those vessels having narcotics or any other drug-related materials onboard. International law experts, along with the United Nations, continue to be concerned that the United States' military anti-drug tactics constitute an illegal breach of international law, and they call for the U.S. to end its use of such tactics. The global reaction has continued to present a serious concern about both the legality of employing force against alleged drug traffickers and whether the loss of innocent lives during these types of operations can ever be justified.