US strikes alleged drug boat, killing 3
Originally Published: 13 FEB 26 19:51 ET
Updated: 13 FEB 26 20:18 ET
By Aleena Fayaz, CNN
(CNN) — The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat on Friday, killing three people, according to US Southern Command.
“On Feb. 13, 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,” SOUTHCOM wrote on X, adding that no US military personnel were harmed in the strike.
The statement did not specify where the strike took place but said “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
At least 124 people have now been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of Operation Southern Spear, a campaign the Trump administration says is aimed at curtailing narcotics trafficking.
The administration has labeled those killed as “unlawful combatants” and claimed the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a classified Justice Department finding.
Friday’s boat strike is the fourth publicly known attack of the year. A strike earlier this week killed two people and left one survivor, with the US Coast Guard providing technical support for search and rescue operations coordinated by Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Ecuador.
The administration has publicly presented little evidence that those killed in Operation Southern Spear are affiliated with drug cartels, or that each of the vessels had drugs on them.
The legality of the strikes has also come under intense scrutiny in Congress since the operations began in September. There is particular interest in the first attack on September 2, which included a follow-up strike that killed two crew members who had initially survived. Multiple current and former military lawyers previously told CNN the strikes do not appear lawful.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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