U.S. military forces carried out a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Friday that resulted in two deaths and one survivor, officials said.
In a statement, U.S. Southern Command identified the fatalities as two males and confirmed that one person survived the attack. The command also said the U.S. Coast Guard had been notified to conduct search and rescue operations following the strike.
The incident is the latest in a sequence of U.S. operations targeting boats the military alleges were transporting narcotics across the Eastern Pacific. U.S. forces have engaged multiple such vessels in recent weeks, according to the account provided by Southern Command.
Since September, U.S. strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific have resulted in more than 190 deaths, military reports indicate. That broader tally covers operations similar in purpose to the one carried out on Friday.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have publicly condemned the strikes, labeling them "unlawful extrajudicial killings." Those organizations have criticized the use of lethal force in these maritime interdictions.
Details at a glance
- Two males were killed in the Eastern Pacific strike; one person survived, Southern Command said.
- The U.S. Coast Guard was notified to undertake search and rescue efforts following the incident.
- The strike is part of recent U.S. military activity against suspected drug-running boats in the Eastern Pacific.
- Across the Caribbean and Pacific, more than 190 people have been killed in strikes on similar vessels since September.
- Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International describe the strikes as unlawful extrajudicial killings.
The U.S. military and maritime agencies have not provided further public detail about the specific vessel, the exact location beyond the Eastern Pacific, or the identity of the survivors and deceased. Observers and rights groups have raised legal and ethical concerns about the pattern of maritime strikes, while military officials characterize the actions as efforts to interdict narcotics trafficking at sea.
Official follow-up actions include Coast Guard search and rescue notification and any subsequent investigations or operational reporting that U.S. commands may undertake. At this stage, public accounts remain limited to the core facts released by Southern Command and statements from rights organizations challenging the legality of the strikes.
Summary
The U.S. military struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two males and leaving one survivor, with the U.S. Coast Guard notified for search and rescue. The strike is among several recent operations against suspected narcotics-running boats in the region. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have criticized the strikes as unlawful extrajudicial killings, and more than 190 people have been reported killed in similar operations in the Caribbean and Pacific since September.