US says it hit another vessel engaged in ‘narco-trafficking operations’ in eastern Pacific, killing three

Posted on by Taiwo Adebulu

3 min readMay 31, 2026 09:23 AM IST

The US military, on Saturday (May 30), said that it conducted a “lethal kinetic strike” targeting a vessel operated by “designated terrorist organisations” in ​the eastern Pacific, killing three men.

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This was the fourth attack by the American forces in a week.

US Southern Command said in a post on X that the intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known “narco-trafficking routes” in the eastern Pacific and was engaged in “narco-trafficking operations”.

“On May 30, 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 routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” it said.

“Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” US Southern Command added.

Previous attacks

The US Army, on Friday, announced that it struck a boat accused of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men.

The military posted a video of the attack on X, showing a boat floating in the ocean before being hit and consumed by flames.

In a similar incident, the US military hit another vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday (May 27), killing two men.

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US Southern Command released video footage on its official social media handle, showcasing a boat resting on the water before being struck by an explosion, with smoke and flames rising from the vessel afterwards.

“On May 27, 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 routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” US Southern Command said in a post on X.

The incident came a day after the American forces carried out a strike on a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific, with the Southern Command saying that the attack killed one man.

The Trump administration’s campaign targeting alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has so far killed over 200 people in total.

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