5 dead in US strikes on alleged drug boats off Latin America: Pentagon

WASHINGTON – The US military says it has killed five people in two strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in waters off Latin America over the last two days, bringing the death toll from the contentious bombing campaign to at least 190.

US Southern Command said the US military on May 5 “conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations”, in the Eastern Pacific.

In a statement on X, the southern command said that “the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes... and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations”.

“Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action,” it added.

This latest strike follows a similar, but separate attack on May 4 in the Caribbean.

The southern command said US forces killed two people in that strike.

US President Donald Trump’s administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls “narco-terrorists” operating in Latin America.

But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations. AFP