U.S. Military Strike in Eastern Pacific Leaves Two Dead, One Injured – SOUTHCOM Confirms

Fresh footage released by Southern Command shows vessel on fire; rights advocates demand accountability as death toll since September nears 200.

The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has released new video footage of a military strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, the latest in a growing series of maritime attacks that have sparked legal and ethical questions.

The footage shows a vessel moving across the water before being struck by what appears to be a missile. The scene briefly goes dark, then returns to reveal the boat fully engulfed in flames.

According to SOUTHCOM, the strike killed two people. One other individual remains injured, and a single survivor was recovered. The U.S. Coast Guard has been notified and is conducting a search and rescue mission.

This attack follows another U.S. strike on Tuesday in the same region, which killed three people alleged by U.S. officials to be suspected drug traffickers.

Since September, the U.S. has carried out 58 strikes on boats, resulting in the deaths of approximately 192 people. Only four survivors have been reported across all these operations, according to U.S. figures.

The Trump administration has defended the operations as a “war against narcoterror” being conducted in Latin America.

But the campaign has faced growing criticism. The U.S. has not provided evidence confirming whether the targeted vessels were actually transporting drugs. Legal experts have argued that many of these deaths may constitute extrajudicial killings.

Since the beginning of 2026, this marks the seventh known U.S. attack on boats. In April and March, at least one attack was recorded per month, while February and January each saw two attacks per month.