2 Killed In Latest US Strike On Alleged Drug-Trafficking Boat

Two people were killed during the United States' military's latest attack on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Pacific Ocean Thursday (February 5), the U.S. Southern Command wrote in a post shared on its X account.

"On Feb. 5, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, 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 Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Two narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed. @SecWar @DeptofWar #OpSouthernSpear," the post stated, along with an unclassified video of the attack, which shows the boat moving through water before exploding in flames.

The strike was announced hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that "some top cartel drug-traffickers" had "decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean," though not providing any details or information to support his claim, in a post shared on his personal social media account.

Neither the U.S. Southern Command nor the Pentagon provided answers to follow-up questions after Hegseth's post making the claim. Thursday's strikes were the latest attacks on alleged drug-trafficking vessels since September 2025, which have slowed since January after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the U.S. military.

A total 128 people were killed in the attacks, which includes individuals presumed dead after being lost at sea.