By Euronews with AP
Published on
•Updated
The US military said it struck another boat suspected of smuggling drugs in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing one person.
At the direction of US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, “Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations in international waters,” the US Southern Command wrote in a post on X.
“Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” it added.
The strikes brought the total death toll to 105 across 29 operations since September, when the Trump administration began targeting vessels it claims are operated by designated terrorist organisations.
The campaign has drawn scrutiny from lawmakers and legal experts who question whether the operations comply with US and international law.
Some critics argue that the use of lethal force in international waters without due process amounts to extrajudicial killing.