Two killed in US boat strike in eastern Pacific

2026-01-25 - 21:05

The American military has carried out first known attack on an alleged drug vessel since Nicolas Maduro’s capture The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday, killing two people, according to US Southern Command. The attack marks the first known strike against alleged drug-trafficking boats since US forces abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3. At least 117 people have reportedly been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of a US campaign launched in September and dubbed Operation Southern Spear. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Washington of carrying out extrajudicial killings and warned that the strikes undermine international law and threaten regional stability. “On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” US Southern Command wrote on X. On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern... pic.twitter.com/BzeBBapfMQ — U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 23, 2026 It added the boat was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” and that the strike left one survivor. SOUTHCOM said it notified the Coast Guard to launch search and rescue operations for that person.