US Military Strikes Alleged Drug Vessel in the Caribbean

The US has launched another strike on a vessel in the Caribbean, killing four people, the US Southern Command said.

The command, which oversees combatant operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced on X that it had conducted a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations”. This latest strike brings the total number of deaths to at least 163 people since the defense department began attacking alleged “narco-terrorists” last September in more than 45 strikes.

The US Southern Command said that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The strike killed four alleged drug smugglers, according to the US Southern Command. No US military personnel were harmed, it added.

The latest strike comes as part of the US Southern Command’s efforts to apply “total systemic friction on the cartels”. The US military has been working to disrupt the flow of drugs into the country, with a focus on the Caribbean and Latin America.

The attacks have been condemned as extrajudicial killings by the UN and other humanitarian organizations. However, the US Southern Command maintains that the strikes are necessary to combat the growing threat of narco-terrorism.