Washington, March 8, (dpa/GNA) – A US airstrike on a boat carrying suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific, killed six people, the US military said on Sunday.
The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said “six male narco-terrorists were killed” in a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel which the US alleges “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
In recent months, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly ordered attacks on boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, citing efforts to stop cross-border drug smuggling.
Critics say the deadly attacks in international waters violate international law.
According to official figures, more than 130 people have already been killed.
On Saturday, Trump also announced a new military coalition to eradicate criminal cartels at a meeting with some Latin America and Caribbean leaders.
Attendees included right-wing Argentinian President Javier Milei and Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele.
However, the region’s most populous countries,namely Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, which have left-wing leaders, were not represented.
GNA