The U.S. military on Friday conducted its third boat strike in five days against a vessel it accused of smuggling drugs, killing two and leaving one survivor at large in the eastern Pacific, U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post.
The result of the strike was unusual. Of the 57 attacks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific against boats the United States has claimed were engaged in drug trafficking, there have rarely been survivors. And in all but two cases, survivors were lost at sea.
The strike on Friday, the latest after the military accelerated its pace of attacks in recent weeks, brought the death toll to at least 192. Military experts say that the strikes are illegal, extrajudicial killings.
The U.S. Southern Command said in its social media post that it had notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate a “Search and Rescue system.” A U.S. official said the Mexican Navy was in charge of the search for the survivor.
Citing unspecified intelligence, the U.S. military claimed that the boat was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” and was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The Trump administration has not provided evidence that the boats that have been attacked were involved in drug smuggling.
Adam Sella covers breaking news for The Times in Washington.
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