By Staff, Agencies

The US military killed five people in a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Thursday, marking the latest operation in Washington’s expanding campaign against alleged drug-trafficking networks across Latin America.

US Southern Command claimed the vessel was travelling along “established narco-trafficking routes” and said the operation was based on “confirmed intelligence.”

However, the military has not publicly presented evidence that the boat was carrying narcotics when it was attacked. Footage shared on social media showed the vessel in the crosshairs before being struck and engulfed in flames.

According to media tallies, the latest attack brings the number of US strikes in the campaign to more than 70 since President Donald Trump returned to the White House for his second term, with the overall death toll exceeding 240.

The administration has increasingly framed the operations as an armed conflict against groups it labels “narcoterrorists,” despite mounting questions over the evidence supporting the allegations.

The campaign has drawn criticism from human rights organizations, lawmakers and military legal experts, who question the legality of the killings.

Rights groups argue that the attacks may amount to extrajudicial executions, as those killed appear to have been civilians who posed no imminent threat to the United States. US senators have also urged the Pentagon to release unedited footage of the strikes to ensure transparency and accountability.

Legal scholars have challenged Washington’s justification for using lethal military force beyond conventional battlefields, arguing that the administration has yet to clearly establish the legal basis for the operations. The absence of publicly disclosed evidence that the targeted vessels were carrying drugs has further intensified scrutiny of the campaign.