US military says eastern Pacific boat strike killed five

The U.S. military said it struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing five people it accused of drug trafficking.

U.S. Southern Command said the Oct. 27 operation targeted a “go-fast vessel” traveling along established trafficking routes. It said intelligence confirmed the boat was involved in narcotics trafficking, but the military did not publicly provide evidence supporting that claim. Video released by the command showed a small vessel before an explosion.

The strike was the latest in a campaign begun by President Donald Trump’s administration in September 2025 against boats it says are carrying drugs in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. Media counts place the campaign’s toll at more than 240 people in over 70 strikes. The Washington Office on Latin America, a U.S.-based research and advocacy group, counted 238 deaths in 68 reported strikes before Tuesday’s attack, which would raise its total to 243.

Trump has described the United States as being in an armed conflict with Latin American cartels and has argued that military action is necessary to curb drug flows into the country. Legal scholars and human rights groups have challenged the legality of the strikes, arguing that suspected drug trafficking is a law-enforcement matter and that lethal force may amount to extrajudicial killing when those targeted pose no immediate threat.

The Pentagon’s inspector general said in May that it would examine whether the military followed its established targeting framework during the operations, though the review would not assess their legality.