U.S. Southern Command confirmed a deadly maritime strike against a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The operation marked the first publicly acknowledged attack since U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this month.
Military officials said in a post 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 Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
The strike targeted a boat operating along established narcotics routes and left two people dead. One person survived and later received rescue assistance.
Strike Details And Timeline
The operation occurred Jan. 23 after intelligence tracked the vessel’s movement through a high-traffic smuggling corridor.
Commanders approved the strike after determining the boat supported organized narcotics activity.
After the strike, U.S. Southern Command alerted the U.S. Coast Guard to activate emergency rescue procedures.
Crews recovered the lone survivor following the engagement.
Video footage shared online in the social media post by the U.S. Southern Command shows the vessel moving across open water before erupting into flames.
The military did not release additional imagery or operational specifics.
The strike fits within an expanded maritime campaign targeting drug routes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, Politico reported.
Rising Strike Count
Since early September, U.S. forces have acknowledged 36 maritime strikes against suspected smuggling vessels. Those operations reportedly caused at least 117 fatalities across regional waters.
The most recent strikes before this incident occurred in late December. Military officials said five boats were hit over two days, killing eight people.
Caribbean Focus
Most confirmed strikes have taken place in the Caribbean Sea. Officials cite heavy trafficking volumes and established routes as primary reasons.
U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife during a Jan. 3 operation in Caracas.
Authorities transported both to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges.
Before his arrest, Maduro accused Washington of using anti-drug missions as cover for regime change efforts. U.S. officials have repeatedly rejected those claims.
Trump’s Assessment
President Donald Trump said the strikes dramatically reduced maritime drug flows.
“We’ve stopped — virtually stopped almost 100% of all drugs coming in by water,” POLITIOCO quoted Trump saying at the World Economic Forum at Davos on Thursday.
Defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin Corp. (NYSE:LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corp. (NYSE:NOC) remain closely tied to U.S. military operations.
Image: Shutterstock/Joshua Sukoff
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