Washington — The US military announced on Thursday that it had carried out two more strikes against boats it said were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people.
US Southern Command posted on social media that “intelligence confirmed that the ships were transiting along known drug smuggling routes in the eastern Pacific and were involved in drug smuggling operations,” although it did not provide evidence. It posted videos of each boat speeding through the water before being hit by an explosion.
The army said three people on one ship and two on the other were killed.
brought attacks Total number of known boat strikes to 28, while at least 104 people were killed, according to figures announced by the Trump administration. President Donald Trump did it Justify the attacks As a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, he stressed that the United States is involved in this “Armed conflict” with drug gangs.
Facing management Increased scrutiny by lawmakers During the boat strike campaign. The first attack occurred in early September A follow-up raid killed two survivors Clinging to the wreckage of the boat after the first hit.