Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5, leave 1 survivor in eastern
Pacific, US military says
[April 13, 2026]
By BEN FINLEY
WASHINGTON
(AP) — The U.S. military said Sunday that it blew up two boats accused
of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of five
people and leaving one survivor, as the Trump administration pursues its
campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America while preparing a
naval blockade of Iranian ports. |
The Pentagon is seen from an airplane, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in
Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) |
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The attacks on Saturday bring the number of people who have been
killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to at least 168
since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls
“narcoterrorists” in early September.
As with most of the military’s statements on the dozens of
strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern
Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along
known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence
that the vessel was ferrying drugs. Videos posted on X showed
small boats moving across the water before they each were
engulfed in a bright explosion.
U.S. Southern Command stated on X that it notified the U.S.
Coast Guard to activate the search-and-rescue system for the
survivor. The Coast Guard confirmed it was coordinating the
search and said updates would be provided when available.
President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict”
with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a
necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United
States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his
administration has offered little evidence to support its claims
of killing “narcoterrorists.”
Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes
as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl
behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S.
over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals
imported from China and India.
The boat strikes have continued in Latin America even as the
U.S. military has focused on operations in the Middle East,
where the U.S. was engaged in a war with Iran for several weeks.
Trump on Sunday said the U.S. Navy would begin a blockade of
ships entering or leaving the Strait of Hormuz, after U.S.-Iran
ceasefire talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. Trump
wants to weaken Iran’s key leverage in the war after demanding
that it reopen the crucial waterway through which 20% of global
oil normally passes. U.S. Central Command said the blockade
would involve Iranian ports.
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