Washington– The US military announced on Monday that it had carried out another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person.
“Intelligence confirmed that the ship was passing through known drug smuggling routes in the Eastern Pacific and was involved in drug smuggling operations,” US Southern Command said in a social media post. Southern Command did not provide any evidence that the ship was involved in drug smuggling.
A video posted by US Southern Command shows spots of water near one side of the boat. After a second shot, the back of the boat caught fire. More splashes engulf the vehicle and the fire grows. In the last second of the video, the ship can be seen drifting with a large piece of fire next to it.
Previous videos of US boat strikes showed ships suddenly exploding, indicating missile strikes. Some videos of the bombing even showed visible missile-like projectiles falling on boats.
The Trump administration said the strikes aim to stop the flow of drugs into the United States and increase pressure on it Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
At least 105 people were killed 29 known hits Since early September. The strikes have faced scrutiny from US lawmakers and human rights activists, who say the administration has provided little evidence that its targets are actually drug traffickers and say the deadly strikes amount to extrajudicial killing.
Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard has stepped up its efforts Intercepting oil tankers in the Caribbean Sea as part of the Trump administration’s escalating campaign against Maduro.