US military strikes Caribbean vessel, kills three amid ongoing operations

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The United States military has conducted another lethal attack on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of three people. This latest strike adds to a series of operations that have killed at least 133 individuals since September 2025.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which oversees military operations across Latin America and the Caribbean, confirmed that US forces “conducted a lethal kinetic strike” on Friday, killing three people.

The military repeated its claim that those targeted were suspected drug traffickers, describing the deceased as “narco-terrorists,” though it did not provide independent evidence to substantiate the allegations.

SOUTHCOM released a video showing a missile hitting the vessel, which exploded and was completely destroyed.

International law and human rights experts have frequently criticized such attacks, arguing they amount to extrajudicial executions even if the targets are allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

This attack follows an operation earlier in the week in the eastern Pacific Ocean. SOUTHCOM said it struck a vessel, killing two people while leaving one survivor. Officials notified the US Coast Guard about the survivor but did not provide details on the individual’s condition or likelihood of rescue.

The US first attacked vessels in international waters in September 2025. That initial strike included a follow-up attack that killed survivors clinging to the wreckage. US officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Admiral Frank Bradley, faced scrutiny over the decision to target the shipwrecked survivors.

Legal experts have warned that the US military could be implicated in a crime for killing individuals after a shipwreck.

Monitors and media tallies indicate that US forces have carried out approximately 38 attacks against 40 vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, resulting in at least 133 deaths, including the two killed earlier this week.

President Donald Trump has described the situation as an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels, defending the operations as necessary to curb drug trafficking into the US.

Legal observers, however, have argued that the US has no authority to carry out strikes in international waters and that all alleged traffickers have a right to due process.