US forces executed a lethal kinetic strike Friday on a vessel allegedly operated by a designated terrorist organization, killing two suspected narco-terrorists.
US Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) said intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in trafficking operations.
USSOUTHCOM activated its search-and-rescue system to search for one suspected narco-terrorist, who officials said survived the strike.
The Department of War last conducted a kinetic strike in the Eastern Pacific on Dec. 31, targeting three suspected narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy.
The three ships, allegedly operated by designated terrorist organizations, were traveling in international waters.
Officials claimed those aboard transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes.
Three narco-terrorists were reportedly killed on the first vessel, while those on the other two ships jumped out before follow-on engagements sank the vessels.
It is unclear how many survivors escaped.
Despite extensive coordination with international rescue coordination centers, Department of War partners, and Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system vessels, the Coast Guard said available assets were “extremely limited due to distance and range constraints,” prompting them to suspend the search Jan. 2.
“Suspending a search is never easy and given the exhaustive search effort, lack of positive indications and declining probability of survival, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments,” US Coast Guard Capt. Patrick Dill, chief of incident management in the southwest district, wrote in a statement on Jan. 2.
“At this stage of the response, the likelihood of a successful outcome, based on elapsed time, environmental conditions, and available resources for a person in the water is very low,” Dill added.
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