Attack was the 1st reported by US forces since Maduro’s capture; one person would have survived
The reported on Friday (23 January 2026) that it carried out an attack on a boat in the Pacific, killing two people. A survivor was reportedly being sought by the military.
“Intelligence information confirmed that the vessel was sailing known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was involved in drug trafficking operations. Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived the attack”said the US forces in one on the social network X.
According to the Army, after the bombing, “Southern Command immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate the search and rescue system for the survivor”. According to the newspaper, there was no way to independently verify the attack or the intelligence cited by the military.
Watch the video of the attack on January 23 (10s):
On Jan. 23, at the direction of Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern…
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom)
This is the 1st attack reported by US forces since the , (PSUV, left), by the US, on January 3rd. The last operation announced by the military took place, when 2 boats were bombed, leaving 5 dead. The location of the attack was not disclosed.
Since September 2025, the US has carried out 36 attacks against more than 30 boats in the Pacific and Caribbean, with a total of 125 deaths. The actions are questioned by experts and the UN (United Nations). They argue that they constitute extrajudicial executions and could constitute war crimes.
