WASHINGTON, April 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Southern Command said on Wednesday it had killed three people in a strike on what it described as a drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific.
In a post on the social platform X, the command said that joint task force Southern Spear, acting under the direction of commander General Francis L. Donovan, carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel it claimed was operated by a designated terrorist organization.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed," it added.
The strike marked the third consecutive day of U.S. operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the region. The military said it killed four people in a separate strike on Tuesday and two others in another operation on Monday.
Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted roughly 50 known airstrikes on suspected drug-trafficking boats, claiming at least 174 lives. ■
