U.S. conducts two more strikes on alleged drug boats in Eastern Pacific, five killed

The U.S. military said Thursday that it had conducted two more strikes against boats it said were smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five people. U.S. Southern Command posted on social media that intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations, though it did not provide evidence. It posted videos of each boat speeding through water before being struck by an explosion. The military said three people in one vessel and two in the other were killed.

This latest round of strikes brings the total number of known boat strikes to 28, with at least 104 people killed, according to numbers publicly announced by the Trump administration. The first attack in early September involved a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.

President Donald Trump has justified the strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and has asserted that the U.S. is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels. The administration is facing increasing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat-strike campaign, with critics questioning civilian harm, legal authorities, and the overall strategy.

Beyond the immediate casualties, officials have cited intelligence indicating that the targeted vessels were actively involved in narcotics trafficking and had been sighted on routes known to be used by smugglers. The campaign, which has included several strikes since September, is framed by the administration as a tool to disrupt smuggling networks and choke off drug shipments before they reach U.S. shores, a claim supporters say is essential to national security.

Observers note that the operations come amid broader debates over military actions conducted outside traditional war zones and the legal framework governing such actions. While officials have described the strikes as precise and necessary, questions persist about civilian harm, the rules of engagement, and the transparency of the evidence used to justify each strike.

As lawmakers continue to press for more detailed disclosures about the results and the intelligence behind the operations, the administration has defended the campaign as a persistent, targeted effort against a criminal network that has long exploited legitimate sea lanes. The sequence of events—several strikes in the eastern Pacific following initial hits, plus the occasional report of survivors—has kept the story in the national conversation, even as the focus shifts to domestic policy and the balance between security and oversight.