US military says it struck vessel in Eastern Pacific, killing two
WEST PHILIPPINE SEA, PHILIPPINE - APRIL 27: A United States military helicopter lands on the deck of USS Savannah (LCS 28)warship, during a multilateral maritime exercise between United States, Japan and Philippine, as part of the annual Balikatan exercise, in West Philippine Sea, Philippine, on April 27, 2025. Dubbed the 'full-battle scale', this year's Balikatan (Shoulder-to-Shoulder) exercises comes at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Manila, after China increased its military aggression and activities in the highly contested waters of the South China Sea and West Philippine Sea, including using Chinese Coast Guard vessels to slam into Filipino Coast Guard ships. (Photo by Daniel Ceng/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The U.S. military said on Friday it struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people, in the latest such attack, condemned by rights groups as “extrajudicial killings” and described by Washington as targeting “narco-terrorists.”
The U.S. Southern Command alleged that the vessel struck on Friday was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” that it did not identify.
It said that no U.S. military forces were harmed. It described those killed as “male narco-terrorists,” without offering details.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the U.S. Southern Command said on X.
A 16 second-long clip released by the Southern Command showed a vessel being struck in the waters.
The U.S. military has made numerous such deadly strikes in the Eastern Pacific in recent weeks.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been striking vessels that it accuses of transporting narcotics.
The U.S. military’s strikes on such vessels have killed more than 170 people since September.
Experts and human rights advocates, both in the U.S. and globally, have questioned the legality of the strikes.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have said the strikes amount to “unlawful extrajudicial killings.”
The American Civil Liberties Union has cast the assertions by the Trump administration against those it targets as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims.”
