A total of five people have been killed in two new US attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
“Our intelligence had revealed that both ships were involved in illicit drug trafficking,” Hegseth said of the attacks in two separate posts on Wednesday, adding that they “were transiting along a known narco-trafficking route” and “were carrying narcotics.”
According to Hegseth, both of them were in international waters.
Three people were killed in the attack announced late Wednesday, while two were killed in a previous attack, which apparently took place on Tuesday.
Hegseth called those killed “narco-terrorists”.
Both videos show the same speedboat moving quickly through the water before being hit by the projectile. The boats then float on the water and burst into flames. A video shows large packages floating on the surface of the water after the attack.
First attack on alleged drug smugglers in the Pacific region
President Donald Trump’s administration began deploying covert warplanes and Navy ships in September as part of efforts to combat drug trafficking in the United States.
These two attacks in the eastern Pacific, which extend to the US West Coast, mark a change in operations.
Previous US attacks had targeted ships in the Caribbean, east of Central America.
According to the US Justice Department, most of the cocaine smuggled into the US comes into the country from Mexico.
But it mostly reaches Mexico via the eastern Pacific rather than the Caribbean, from Colombia and Peru, the world’s largest cocaine producers.
Are US attacks on boats in international waters legal?
Since September, the US has killed at least 37 people in nine attacks on boats that the Trump administration says were smuggling drugs.
Many legal experts and rights groups have criticized summary killings, saying that they are illegal, even though they target confirmed drug traffickers.
“The use of lethal force in international waters without an appropriate legal basis constitutes a violation of the international law of the sea,” UN experts said on Tuesday.
“This amounts to an extrajudicial execution,” the experts said in a statement. Statement by the United Nations Human Rights Office OHCHR,
The Trump administration has said the attacks are lawful. It has declared Latin American drug cartels as outlawed combatants and terrorist groups who must be combated with military force.
Regional tensions have increased due to US attacks
The US attacks have increased tensions with countries in the region.
This is especially the case in Venezuela, where the US military buildup has raised fears that the ultimate goal is to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.
The US has accused Maduro of leading a drug cartel.
The US has increased its presence in the Caribbean region to about 10,000 troops as well as dozens of military aircraft and warships.
Last week, Trump confirmed authorizing the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
Meanwhile, the public feud between Trump and Colombia’s leftist leader Gustavo Petro has intensified in recent weeks over the Republican president’s deadly anti-drug campaign.
Trump on Sunday vowed to cut off all aid to Colombia, the world’s leading cocaine producer, and branded Petro an “illegal drug dealer.”
Colombia recalled its ambassador to the United States on Monday.
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar