The U.S. military conducted another strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving three survivors, U.S. Southern Command said Friday.
In a post on X showing video of the Thursday attack, SOUTHCOM said, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.”
“Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three narco-terrorists survived the strike,” the post said.
It did not say how many people were believed to have been killed.
The Associated Press reported that Costa Rican authorities said they found two people dead and one survivor who was critically injured.
“Upon arrival, one person was found with severe burns and significant chest trauma and was transported in critical condition to the Golfito Hospital. In addition, two people were found with no vital signs,” said Steven Umaña, regional operations coordinator for the Costa Rican Red Cross, the AP reported.
SOUTHCOM said that after the strike, it “immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”
Umaña said he received an alert from the Coast Guard at 8:15 a.m. Friday about a shipwreck, the AP reported.
The Coast Guard and Defense Department did not immediately respond to requests for more information. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a subsequent request for comment Friday night on Umaña’s account.
The strike is at least the second to be conducted during the ongoing war with Iran.
On March 8, SOUTHCOM said it struck a vessel in the same area of the Pacific and that “six male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.”
The U.S. has carried out more than 45 strikes in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September, killing more than 140 people.
The Trump administration has argued that the strikes are in the country’s national security interest and have saved lives by preventing illicit drugs from entering the U.S. Some lawmakers and advocacy groups have criticized the strikes as illegal.
The X post on Friday said the strike had been directed by Gen. Francis Donovan, the head of Southern Command. In testimony Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Donovan said that looking forward, “boat strikes aren’t the answer.”
He said they’re working on “a counter cartel campaign process that puts total systemic friction” across various drug networks.
“I believe that actually kinetic strikes will be one of the many tools, and probably not the most effective tool, when we actually look at it as more of a campaign approach,” Donovan testified.
