The U.S. military's latest strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed two men on Friday (May 8, 2026) while leaving one survivor.
Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a black, boat-shaped image before what appears to be an explosion, followed by a column of fire rising from the ocean.
On May 8, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking… pic.twitter.com/YFLQNZufRx
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) May 9, 2026
Southern Command said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor.” The White House announced Wednesday that President Donald Trump has signed off on a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy that sets eliminating drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere as the administration's highest priority.
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 early September and killed at least 193 people in total. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs. The strikes have ramped up again in recent weeks.
At the same time, Mr. Trump has sought to press regional leaders to work more closely with the U.S. to target cartels and take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs that he says pose an “unacceptable threat” to the hemisphere's national security.
Critics, meanwhile, have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes.