US Military Kills Five In Strikes On Suspected Drug-Smuggling Boats; Coast Guard Ordered To Search For Survivors

The United States military said it killed at least five people in strikes on small vessels it described as involved in drug trafficking and asked the US Coast Guard to activate search-and-rescue operations to look for survivors.

A Wednesday statement from US Southern Command did not disclose the precise location of the engagements. Previous strikes by US forces have taken place in the Caribbean Sea and in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Video And Allegations
Southern Command published a video on social media showing several small boats traveling in close formation. The command said the vessels were moving in a convoy along established narco-trafficking routes and that narcotics had been transferred between three vessels prior to the strikes, but it did not provide supporting evidence for that claim.

Casualties And Sequence Of Events
According to the military statement, "three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement." It added that occupants of the two other boats abandoned their vessels, jumped overboard and distanced themselves before follow-on engagements sank those boats. Southern Command later said a second strike killed two more people.

Search For Survivors
The US military said it notified the Coast Guard to "activate the Search and Rescue system." Reuters, citing a US official, reported that eight people had abandoned their vessels and were being searched for in the Pacific Ocean. The US Coast Guard told Reuters it had deployed a C-130 aircraft and was coordinating with vessels in the area.

Context And Controversy
The request for a rescue effort drew particular attention because the US military faced heavy criticism after a follow-up strike in early September killed survivors on a disabled boat. Some Democratic lawmakers and legal experts said that earlier follow-up strike may have been unlawful; the Trump administration and some Republican lawmakers said it was legal. The administration has released figures saying these latest attacks bring the total number of known US boat strikes to 33, with at least 112 people killed since early September.

Broader Regional Tensions
President Donald Trump has defended the strikes as an escalation intended to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, saying Washington is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels. His administration has also increased military pressure in the region — including positioning more than 15,000 troops — as part of a campaign targeting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US accuses of narco-terrorism. Caracas denies involvement in drug trafficking and accuses the US of seeking regime change to seize Venezuela's oil reserves.

On Monday, Mr. Trump said US forces had "hit" an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, the first public claim of a US land operation in Venezuela. US officials later clarified that the land action was not carried out by US military forces. Mr. Trump has previously said he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

Note: Southern Command's public statement did not include independent evidence of narcotics transfers. Reporting from Reuters and statements from US agencies were cited where available.