The United States military attacked a vessel allegedly involved in drug trafficking on Wednesday in the Pacific Ocean. The operation resulted in the deaths of two men. This action is part of President Trump’s ongoing campaign against drug trafficking in Latin America.
The latest attack brings the number of deaths in military operations against vessels to at least 207 since the White House began targeting alleged “narcoterrorists” in early September. As with previous incidents in the Pacific and Caribbean, the US Southern Command stated that it fired upon suspected drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. However, it did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. A video released on social media showed a speedboat racing across the ocean before bursting into flames.
President Trump has declared that the US is in an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels. He defends the military actions as a necessary escalation to curb the flow of drugs into the country and address the overdose epidemic claiming thousands of American lives annually. Despite this, the administration has offered minimal evidence to support claims of targeting “narcoterrorists.”
Critics of these military actions question their legality and effectiveness. Fentanyl, responsible for many fatal overdoses, often enters the US overland from Mexico. It is produced there using chemicals from China and India. Some Democratic lawmakers and military law experts have scrutinized the legality of the attacks. A particular concern arose from the first attack in early September, where two survivors of an initial attack, which killed nine others, died in a follow-up strike while clinging to the boat’s wreckage.
The White House confirmed the follow-up attack, asserting it was conducted “in self-defense” to destroy the vessel in accordance with armed conflict laws. However, some experts argue a second strike on survivors would be illegal under any circumstance, war or not.
The Pentagon’s oversight body announced in May it plans to investigate if US forces adhered to a set framework when selecting targets for these attacks. The review will focus on the six phases of what’s known as the Joint Targeting Cycle, not the legality of the attacks, as stated by the Inspector General’s office.