US strike on an alleged drug boat kills 2, leaves 6 survivors, in the
eastern Pacific Ocean
[June 22, 2026]
By KONSTANTIN TOROPIN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military has conduced another strike against
a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on
Thursday, immediately killing two people and leaving six survivors amid
an ongoing campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.
The latest attack — which now number at more than 60 — brings the number
of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to
more than 210 people since the Trump administration began targeting
those it calls “narcoterrorists” in early September.
It is unclear if the survivors of this strike were rescued. In this
case, and the strike on June 16 that left two survivors, U.S. Central
Command said that they notified the U.S. Coast Guard. The US Coast Guard
said they suspended their search for survivors for the June 16 strike a
day later with “no signs of survivors or debris” but had no comment on
the current strike.
As with most of the military’s statements on strikes in the eastern
Pacific Ocean 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.
A black and white video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the
water before being struck by a visible projectile and then bursting into
flames.
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.”
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Critics of the strikes have questioned the overall legality as well
as their effectiveness. Part of the argument has been that the
fentanyl behind many fatal U.S. drug overdoses is typically
trafficked over land from Mexico, where it is produced with
chemicals imported from China and India.
On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release
“unedited video” of the very first strike that the military
conducted after reports emerged that the U.S. chose to conduct a
follow-up strike on survivors of its initial attack.
Two men on the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine
others, and they were clinging to the wreckage when the vessel was
struck again, killing them. The White House confirmed the follow-up
strike, insisting it was done “in self-defense” to ensure the boat
was destroyed and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.
But some legal scholars said a second strike killing survivors would
have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not.
The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it planned to look into
whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting
framework when carrying out the strikes. However, the evaluation is
focused specifically on what’s known as the six-phase Joint
Targeting Cycle and not on the legality of the strikes, the
inspector general’s office said.
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