Washington (EFE).- The United States Armed Forces announced on Tuesday that they had destroyed three more boats, accused of participating in drug trafficking, in the Pacific and the Caribbean in an operation that caused 11 deaths.
These attacks occurred as part of the «Southern Lance» operation, which Washington has been carrying out in the Southern Command’s area of responsibility since Sep. 2025.
The operation initiated with the primary objective of heightening tensions surrounding former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro (2013-2025), captured in a US military operation on Jan. 3.
«Late on Feb. 16, at the direction of Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted three lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,» Southern Command reported in a statement published Tuesday.
According to the statement, the vessels «were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations.»
«11 male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions, four on the first vessel in the Eastern Pacific, four on the second vessel in the Eastern Pacific, and three on the third vessel in the Caribbean. No US military forces were harmed,» the statement concluded.
These three attacks follow another attack by the US Armed Forces on Feb. 13 that destroyed a boat allegedly used for drug trafficking, killing its three crew members.
Since Sep. 2025, these summary attacks against alleged drug traffickers have exceeded 40 and left around 150 people dead.
Facing criticism from those who believe Washington is not respecting due process, the government of US President Donald Trump has argued its actions are justified as the administration declared war on several Latin American cartels and organizations linked to drug trafficking. EFE
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