The American military has carried out first known attack on an alleged drug vessel since Nicolas Maduro’s capture
The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday, killing two people, according to US Southern Command.
The attack marks the first known strike against alleged drug-trafficking boats since US forces abducted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on January 3. At least 117 people have reportedly been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of a US campaign launched in September and dubbed Operation Southern Spear. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has accused Washington of carrying out extrajudicial killings and warned that the strikes undermine international law and threaten regional stability.
“On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” US Southern Command wrote on X.
On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern… pic.twitter.com/BzeBBapfMQ
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 23, 2026
It added the boat was “engaged in narco-trafficking operations” and that the strike left one survivor. SOUTHCOM said it notified the Coast Guard to launch search and rescue operations for that person.
The post was accompanied by grainy black and white aerial footage that appeared to show a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames.
With the latest attack, there have been 36 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September, according to multiple media reports and White House announcements. The majority have occurred in the Caribbean Sea.
The last reported boat strikes occurred in late December, when the military said it struck five alleged drug-smuggling boats over two days, killing a total of eight people while others jumped overboard. Days later, the Coast Guard suspended its search.
Trump has repeatedly said that the American strikes targeting alleged smugglers are having an enormous impact by slowing drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
His administration has not provided public evidence of the presence of narcotics on the boats struck, nor their affiliation with drug cartels.
Several Latin American and European countries have questioned the legality of using lethal force in international waters. China and Iran have denounced the campaign as unilateral and destabilizing.
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