The US military launched another strike on Tuesday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors.
Video posted on social media by US Southern Command shows a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames.
Southern Command said it 'immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.'
The Trump administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since September 2025 and killed at least 194 people in total.
The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.
The Pentagon watchdog said last week that it will evaluate whether the US military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats.
The six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle include a military commander's intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment.
The Pentagon inspector general's office said the review was 'self-initiated.'
The US military carried out another strike Tuesday against a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, leaving one man dead with two survivors rescued
Video released by United States Southern Command showed the targeted speedboat racing across the water moments before it exploded into flames
The attack is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing anti-cartel campaign in Latin American waters, including the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific
It will not probe the legality of the strikes, which have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars.
The Trump administration says the US is at war against the Latin American drug cartels, which it says are responsible for the scourge of fatal drug overdoses plaguing many American communities.
The Trump administration has defended the aggressive tactics, describing those targeted as 'unlawful combatants' and asserting that military force can be used without traditional judicial oversight based on classified legal findings from the Justice Department.
Despite the administration's assertions, the strikes have drawn mounting scrutiny from lawmakers, legal experts, and human rights advocates.
Particular controversy surrounds an earlier strike last September, when a follow-up attack killed two crew members who had survived an initial strike.
Critics have raised concerns about whether sufficient evidence exists to conclusively link those targeted to drug trafficking operations, and whether lethal military force is justified in such circumstances.
Since September 2025, the military campaign under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats has killed at least 194 people
The boat erupted into a huge fireball on the open sea after being struck by the US military
The US military has not publicly released evidence proving the vessels destroyed during the operations were carrying narcotics
Despite the devastation there was two survivors. Above, the remnants of the boat is seen smoldering out on the open waters of the Eastern Pacific
CNN reported that the administration has presented limited public evidence connecting those killed in Operation Southern Spear to specific narcotics shipments or criminal organizations.
The legality of the strikes has also been questioned by military lawyers and legal experts.
Multiple current and former military attorneys said the operations 'do not appear lawful,' raising alarms about the precedent set by using military force against suspected smugglers outside traditional war zones.