US Forces Strike 3 Drug Boats, Killing 11: Pentagon

Since September, U.S. forces have struck 42 drug vessels, killing 144 people, according to a U.S. military spokesperson.

A drug boat burns in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, after being struck by U.S. forces on Feb. 16, 2025. US Southern Command/Screenshot via The Epoch Times

U.S. forces killed 11 drug runners in a trio of strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean late on Feb. 16, according to the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

U.S. Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan ordered the strikes, SOUTHCOM said in a Feb. 17 statement. Donovan assumed command of SOUTHCOM earlier this month.

The strikes targeted two boats in the eastern Pacific, and a third in the Caribbean Sea. According to SOUTHCOM, four males were killed on each of the vessels in the eastern Pacific, and three other males were killed aboard the boat traversing the Caribbean Sea.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said.

The trio of strikes on Monday is part of Operation Southern Spear, which began in September 2025.

A SOUTHCOM spokesperson confirmed to The Epoch Times that U.S. forces have struck 42 drug vessels in the course of the operation, killing 144 people. The spokesperson said the number of dead includes 11 individuals who survived initial U.S. strikes before drowning at sea.

This latest trio of strikes came three days after SOUTHCOM announced U.S. forces attacked a drug vessel on Feb. 13, killing three people.

President Donald Trump has said the strikes are part of his administration’s effort to combat the influx of illicit drugs into the United States and the ongoing opioid crisis.

In the past year, the U.S. State Department has designated 15 Latin American and Caribbean cartels and gangs as foreign terrorist organizations.

Trump on Sept. 2 identified those targeted in the first U.S. strike of Operation Southern Spear as members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

Last month, the families of two Trinidadian nationals filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the U.S. government over one of the lethal strikes in Operation Southern Spear. The families of Chad Joseph and Rishi Samaroo have claimed the two were migrant workers who had found temporary employment in neighboring Venezuela.

The plaintiffs have claimed they last heard from Joseph and Samaroo on Oct. 12, when the pair told their family members they were planning to return home in the coming days. The plaintiff families have claimed Joseph and Samaroo were likely among six people killed in a U.S. military strike off the coast of Venezuela on Oct. 14.

In an interview with Fox Business’s Larry Kudlow on Feb. 10, Trump said future U.S. military strikes on drug trafficking suspects will also pursue land-based targets.

“Now we’re gonna hit them on land. We’re gonna hit them very hard on land,” Trump told the Fox Business host.