The U.S. military announced on Friday that it conducted a lethal strike on a vessel involved in drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This operation marked the first known attack following the recent raid that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
According to the U.S. Southern Command, the targeted boat was engaged in narco-trafficking activities, resulting in the deaths of two individuals and one survivor. The Command informed the U.S. Coast Guard to initiate search and rescue efforts for the surviving individual.
A video shared alongside the announcement depicted the boat navigating through the water before erupting into flames.
In recent times, the U.S. military has been actively pursuing sanctioned oil tankers linked to Venezuela, following the initiative by the Trump administration to apprehend Maduro and bring him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Notably, there have been 36 confirmed strikes against suspected drug smuggling vessels in South American waters since early September, resulting in the deaths of at least 117 individuals, with a majority of the strikes concentrated in the Caribbean Sea.
The most recent boat strikes occurred in late December, where the military targeted five alleged drug-smuggling boats over a two-day period, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals, while others attempted to flee by jumping overboard. Subsequently, the Coast Guard halted its search operations.
On January 3, a significant operation was carried out in Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, leading to the apprehension of Maduro and his spouse, who were then transported to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges. Maduro, prior to his capture, criticized the U.S. military actions as an attempt to destabilize his regime.
President Donald Trump has asserted that the U.S. strikes against suspected smugglers have significantly disrupted drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific regions, claiming a near-complete halt to drug influx via water routes. Trump emphasized these achievements during his address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
