“Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere carried out a lethal kinetic strike against a low-profile vessel traveling along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific,” US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a statement on US social media company X.
SOUTHCOM said two people were killed in Sunday’s strike.
The latest attack comes after a two-month pause in a campaign that has drawn attention to the US military’s use of lethal force against vessels it alleges are involved in drug trafficking.
Before the pause, the US military had destroyed at least 67 vessels and killed at least 221 people since the “Operation Southern Spear” campaign began in September 2025.
Meanwhile, SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan reaffirmed the US military’s commitment to its campaign against alleged drug trafficking.
“We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists – disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership, and eliminating cartel terror across the region,” Donovan said.
“This operation is a powerful demonstration of our lethal precision, overwhelming capability, and absolute resolve to protect the US homeland,” Donovan said in the post.