The latest US attack on a ship in the eastern Pacific killed two alleged drug smugglers, bringing the death toll in such strikes since September to at least 128. Critics point to a lack of evidence and question the legality of the actions.
The US military announced on Thursday that two people it identified as drug smugglers were killed in another attack on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The number of victims of US strikes on ships allegedly carrying narcotics increased to at least 128 since September last year, AFP reported.
- The US military killed two alleged drug smugglers.
- At least 128 people have died in these attacks since September 2023.
- The US is attacking what it calls smuggling ships in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
- Critics question the legality of these interventions without evidence.
- The families of the victims filed the first lawsuits against the US government.
Attacks against vessels in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean began to be carried out by the administration of US President Donald Trump at the beginning of September. She refers to these ships as drug smugglers, but she has not yet presented any clear evidence to support her claim. Critics therefore question the legality of the interventions.
The reasons for the attacks
“Intelligence has confirmed that the ship followed known drug trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and was involved in drug activity. Two narco-terrorists were killed in this action. There were no casualties to US military forces,” said a statement from US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) posted on the X Network.
The latest strike is the second known attack since the US military intervention in Venezuela, in which US special forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in early January and transported him to the US. Washington says Maduro, his wife and other Venezuelan officials are responsible for “narco-terrorism”, drug trafficking and other crimes.
Lawsuits of the victims’ families
At the end of January, two people were killed in another strike by the US military in the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean, whom the US identified as drug smugglers.
Last week, the relatives of two men from Trinidad and Tobago who died in one of the US attacks decided to file a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government. It is the first case of its kind filed against the Trump administration over operations in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
