April 26, 2026 / 11:43 PM EDT / CBS/AP
A U.S. military strike in the eastern Pacific that targeted a vessel accused of carrying drugs killed three people Sunday, U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post. The command released a short video on X showing a fast-moving boat engulfed by an explosion and fire and said the target was along known smuggling routes.
The operation is part of a campaign that began in early September under the Trump administration to destroy vessels allegedly used by drug traffickers in Latin American waters. Southern Command says the strikes have killed at least 186 people overall; some attacks have taken place in the Caribbean Sea as well.
The military has not publicly shared evidence that the struck vessels were transporting drugs. When asked about a previous eastern Pacific strike that killed two men, a Southern Command spokesperson told CBS News that, for operational security, the command could not discuss specific sources or methods.
The series of strikes expanded as the U.S. increased its military presence in the region, and they preceded the January operation that led to the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro was brought to New York on drug trafficking charges and has pleaded not guilty.
The campaign has picked up again in recent weeks: Southern Command reported at least eight boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific so far this month. President Trump has characterized the situation as an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels and defended the strikes as necessary to stem drug flows into the United States. Critics have raised legal and ethical objections to the operations and questioned their justification.