US Strike in Pacific Kills 4 amid Escalating Military Campaign

By Staff, Agencies

The United States has carried out another strike in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people aboard what Washington claims was a drug-trafficking vessel, according to the US Southern Command.

The strike was conducted on December 17 at the direction of US War Secretary Pete Hegseth and is part of “Operation Southern Spear,” a military campaign launched by the Trump administration under the pretext of combating narcotics trafficking.

In a statement posted on X, the US Southern Command said that Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a “lethal kinetic strike” on a boat allegedly operated by what it labeled as a Designated Terrorist Organization, claiming the vessel was traveling along a known narcotics route.

The US military confirmed that four men were killed in the strike and stated that no US forces were harmed.

This brings the number of people killed by US strikes on similar vessels to at least 99, as Washington intensifies its military operations across the region. On Monday alone, the US targeted three other vessels in the eastern Pacific, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals.

Critics, lawmakers, and legal experts have denounced the strikes as illegal under international law.