US strike on alleged drug boat kills four in Pacific

Friday, December 5th 2025 - 10:52 UTC

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“Four male narco-terrorists” were killed, Southcom confirmed

The US Southern Command (Southcom) reported Thursday that four “narco-terrorists” were killed in the Eastern Pacific after a strike on a vessel allegedly linked to illicit narcotics trafficking. The incident comes amid growing domestic scrutiny over the legality and conduct of US military operations off Latin America's coast.

The US military reported another lethal strike on Thursday against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific, resulting in the deaths of four people.

The Southcom, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, released video footage of the strike, confirming that War Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the action.

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific,” Southcom said in a statement, referring to those aboard as “four male narco-terrorists.”

On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and… pic.twitter.com/pqksvxM3HP
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 4, 2025

Thursday's strike was at least the 22nd such attack since early September on vessels in the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean, part of a larger push by the US President Donald Trump administration against Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela. The total number of fatalities from these strikes now stands at a minimum of 87 people.

The anti-narcotics campaign forms part of a massive mobilization of US forces in the region, including an estimated 15,000 military personnel, the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, warships, aircraft, and submarines. Trump recently announced that the US intended to launch a phase of ground operations against drug trafficking as well.

The ongoing vessel attacks have faced increasing scrutiny from members of Congress regarding their legality, particularly following reports concerning a September 2 strike, in which two survivors of the initial missile attack were attempting to re-board the damaged vessel, allegedly to salvage drugs.