Washington– The US military said it killed three people on Monday in a raid on an alleged drug smuggling ship in the Caribbean Sea as part of a drug smuggling operation. The Trump administration’s campaign lasted for several months Against alleged traffickers.
Monday’s attack brought the death toll to at least 151 people since the Trump administration began targeting what it calls “narco-terrorists” on small ships in early September.
As with most of the military’s statements about more than 40 known strikes, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The army did not provide evidence that the ship was transporting drugs, but it posted a video on the X website showing the destruction of a small boat equipped with outboard motors.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was transiting along known drug smuggling routes in the Caribbean and was involved in drug smuggling operations,” Southern Command said in a post on the X website. “Three terrorist drug traffickers were killed during this action.”
President Donald Trump said the United States is in “armed conflict” with gangs in Latin America and has already done so Justify the attacks As a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. But his administration has provided little evidence to support its claims of killing “narco-terrorists.”
Critics They questioned overall legitimacy Of strikes as well as its effectiveness, in part because fentanyl, responsible for many fatal overdoses, is commonly smuggled into the United States. On the ground from MexicoIt is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
The boat hits too It sparked severe criticism After it was revealed that the military killed the survivors of the first boat attack with a subsequent strike. The Trump administration and several Republican lawmakers said it was legal and necessary, while Democratic lawmakers and Legal experts said The killings were murder, if not a war crime.