US military kills three in boat strike in Pacific Ocean

The US military attacked a boat suspected of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing three people. The strike is part of a months-long campaign by the Trump administration targeting alleged traffickers in Latin America. Since late August, the US military has killed at least 211 people in similar boat strikes, according to official statements.

US Southern Command said the operation targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes but did not provide evidence that the vessel was carrying drugs. A video posted on X showed a boat speeding across the water before being hit and bursting into flames.

President Donald Trump has described the campaign as an "armed conflict" with cartels, arguing it is necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US and reduce fatal overdoses. However, the administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing "narcoterrorists."

Critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the strikes, noting that much of the fentanyl behind deadly overdoses is trafficked overland from Mexico, where it is produced using chemicals imported from China and India.

On Thursday, senators demanded that the Pentagon release unedited video of the strikes. Particular controversy surrounds an incident in September when two survivors of an initial attack that killed nine others were killed in a second strike. The White House defended the follow-up strike as self-defense and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict, but legal scholars argued it would have been illegal under any circumstance.

The Pentagon's inspector general announced in May it would review whether the military followed an established targeting framework, but clarified the review would focus on procedure, not the legality of the strikes.