On Feb. 23, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/XUHImPAZik
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) February 23, 2026
The Trump administration has largely been attacking alleged drug boats from Latin America in its fight against drug cartels, and has conducted at least 44 strikes against the boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, according to The Hill.
SOUTHCOM said the latest strike was against an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean and that no U.S. forces were injured in the attack.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," it said on X. "Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action."
It was not immediately clear where the boat was coming from or what designated terrorist organization was responsible for the drug smuggling operation.
The military strike was part of the Trump administration's efforts to curb illicit drug smuggling operations into the U.S.
