US Southern Command released this footage of a strike on May 8, 2026, that it said killed 2 people on a vessel, and left one survivor, in the eastern Pacific. (Photo: X/@Southcom)
Two people were killed and one survived after the US military hit a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Friday.
Video shared by US Southern Command on social media shows a dark, boat-shaped object followed by a blast and a column of fire over the water. SOUTHCOM said it immediately contacted the Coast Guard to start search-and-rescue operations for the survivor.
On May 8, 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 narco-trafficking… pic.twitter.com/YFLQNZufRx
The strike came days after the White House confirmed on Wednesday that President Donald Trump had approved a new counterterrorism strategy making the elimination of drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere the administration’s top priority.
The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since early September and killed at least 193 people in total.
The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs. The strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks.
At the same time, Trump has sought to press regional leaders to work more closely with the US to target cartels and take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an “unacceptable threat” to the hemisphere’s national security.Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.
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US Southern Command released this footage of a strike on May 8, 2026, that it said killed 2 people on a vessel, and left one survivor, in the eastern Pacific. (Photo: X/@Southcom) 
