Five Dead In Strikes On Alleged Drug Boats Off Latin America: Pentagon

The US military says it has killed five people in two strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in waters off Latin America over the last two days, bringing the death toll from the contentious bombing campaign to at least 190.

US Southern Command said the US military on Tuesday "conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations," in the Eastern Pacific.

In a statement on X, SOUTHCOM said that "the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes... and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."

"Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action," it added.

This latest strike follows a similar, but separate attack on Monday in the Caribbean.

SOUTHCOM said US forces killed two people in that strike.

President Donald Trump's administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America.

But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed)