Five dead in strikes on alleged drug boats: Pentagon
This screen grab from a video posted on the X account of US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) on May 5, 2026, shows a vessel that was allegedly "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific". (Photo: US Southern Command/AFP)
WASHINGTON: The US military said it killed five people in two strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific over the last two days.
The latest strikes - which follow dozens of similar attacks in recent months - bring the US campaign's death toll to at least 190.
US Southern Command said the US military on Tuesday (May 5) "conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations," in the Eastern Pacific.
In a statement on X, SOUTHCOM said that "the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes ... and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations".
"Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action," it added.
The post included black and white video of the strike, showing an aerial view of a boat before it is bombed and engulfed in flames. It did not specify its location.
The latest strike follows a similar, but separate attack on Monday in the Caribbean.
SOUTHCOM said US forces killed two people in that strike.
President Donald Trump's administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with what it calls "narco-terrorists" operating out of Venezuela.
But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.
