At least three people were instantly killed, while others were left stranded in international waters
The US has destroyed three alleged narco-trafficking boats travelling in a convoy in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing multiple people aboard, as part of Washington’s growing pressure campaign against Venezuela.
The latest lethal “kinetic strike” was conducted in international waters on December 30, the US Southern Command announced on Wednesday. The Pentagon claimed that prior to the strikes, US intelligence agencies “confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and had transferred narcotics between the three vessels.”
“Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement. The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels,” it said.
On Dec. 30, at the direction of @Secwar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted kinetic strikes against three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy. These vessels were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence… pic.twitter.com/NHRNIzcrFS
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 31, 2025
The Pentagon said it “immediately notified” the US Coast Guard to launch a search and rescue operation, but the fate of those stranded remains unclear.
The latest strikes bring the total number of known boats destroyed to 33 and the number of people killed to at least 110 since early September, when the US launched Operation Southern Spear.
The “anti-drug” campaign launched by US President Donald Trump has drawn criticism internationally over the use of lethal force in international waters without a proper legal basis which UN experts said could constitute “extrajudicial executions.”
In November, the US designated the Venezuelan Cartel de los Soles as a terrorist organization, alleging links to Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, an accusation rejected by Caracas.
In December, Trump went further by declaring the Venezuelan government itself a foreign terrorist organization and ordering a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country.
Maduro has condemned the blockade as illegal under international law and has accused Washington of using the “war on drugs” as a pretext for a regime change operation to seize Venezuela’s natural resources.
Trump had also authorized the CIA to carry out covert actions inside Venezuela – and the agency reportedly carried out a secret drone strike against what the US president described as a “big facility” around Christmas.
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