The US conducted a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking boat, resulting in the deaths of two individuals.
A video released by the US Southern Command depicted a destructive strike targeting a small motor vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The USSC alleged that the small vessel was involved in drug trafficking activities but did not furnish evidence to support this assertion. The footage captured the small boat swiftly traversing the water before being engulfed by a sudden explosion.
According to the Trump administration, two individuals perished in the strike, and a search mission was initiated to locate any survivors.
The USSC declared that it carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a “vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.” The department, under the leadership of Pete Hegseth, cited “intelligence” indicating that the boat was traveling along established drug-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. The USSC referred to the deceased individuals as “narco-terrorists.”
Despite the intelligence claims, the US government did not present evidence supporting the drug trafficking allegations, nor did it disclose the identities of the three individuals aboard the vessel.
This recent strike is the first reported attack on suspected drug boats since the abduction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was taken to the US.
Before Maduro’s capture, Trump’s forces had conducted over 30 strikes on boats allegedly involved in illicit activities off the South American coast, resulting in approximately 100 fatalities.
Despite the administration’s assertions that the individuals aboard these vessels were criminals, some have suggested that many of the boats may have carried innocent fishermen working at sea.
A family shared their distress, stating that a 42-year-old fisherman named Alejandro Carranza set sail on September 14 but never returned. Carranza, who departed from a remote town near the Colombia-Venezuela border, was missing after the US government announced the strike on a “drug” boat in the Caribbean Sea.
Speaking to Aljazeera, Carranza’s childhood friend Leonardo Vega expressed concern, saying, “When I learned that Alejandro hadn’t returned, my immediate fear was that he might have been caught in the bombing.” Carranza’s family refuted President Trump’s claims of his involvement in drug terrorism, emphasizing his lifelong occupation as a fisherman.
The Trump administration has shifted its focus towards seizing oil tankers, with several tankers intercepted and brought to the US.
Additionally, the Republican government has imposed sanctions on tankers traveling to and from Venezuela as part of a wider crackdown on illicit oil trade globally.
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