The U.S. Southern Command reported that it carried out another “kinetic lethal” attack on a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday, resulting in three deaths.
According to the official report published in X, the operation was conducted under the direction of General Francis L. Donovan, after intelligence identified the vessel as allegedly traveling along known drug trafficking routes and participating in such activities. Three men, whom Washington labeled “narco-terrorists,” were killed in the operation, and no U.S. casualties were reported.
Since these operations began last September under the administration of President Donald Trump, more than 60 similar incursions have been recorded, with a provisional death toll of at least 190 people.
These incursions are part of a broader maritime interdiction strategy that, according to U.S. authorities, aims to curb drug trafficking in the region. However, an investigation by The Intercept reveals that the statements from the White House and the Department of Defense are either unfounded, false, or both.
“The administration has not explained the long-term objectives of this mission, nor has it provided any evidence that the flow of drugs into the United States has been reduced,” Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, stated last Thursday, referring to the campaign. “I demand a credible answer to this fundamental question: What is this operation actually trying to accomplish?”
Source: jornada
