U.S. strikes 2 more alleged drug boats in Pacific, bringing total death count to over 100
The U.S. military says it struck two more alleged drug-carrying boats on Thursday, bringing the total death toll from the Trump administration's monthslong campaign to upwards of 100.
The latest two boats were traveling in the Eastern Pacific along "known narco-trafficking routes," U.S. Southern Command announced in a post on X. The military said the boats were operated by designated terrorist organizations. It did not name the vessels' alleged operators, but the Trump administration has labeled several Latin American drug cartels as terrorist groups.
Some five "male narco-terrorists" were killed in the two strikes — three in one boat and two in the other. A total of 104 people have been killed since the boat strikes began on Sept. 2.
On Dec. 18, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/CcCyOgYRto
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 19, 2025
President Trump has cast the strikes as part of a needed crackdown on narcotics trafficking. His administration has legally justified the campaign by arguing the U.S. is engaged in a "non-international armed conflict" with drug cartels.
But the strikes are increasingly controversial, with Democrats and some Republicans arguing the military doesn't have legal authority to carry out the strikes, and hasn't provided enough evidence that the boats were carrying drugs bound for the United States. Democrats in both chambers of Congress have introduced resolutions seeking to curtail the strikes, but they have been voted down, most recently by House Republicans on Wednesday.
And in recent weeks, the initial boat attack in early September has drawn renewed attention due to reports that the military carried out a follow-on strike to kill two survivors.
The strikes are part of a broader buildup of U.S. military forces in the Caribbean and near Latin America, with naval vessels and fighter jets deployed to the region in what the Trump administration calls "Operation Southern Spear," a counter-narcotics mission. Mr. Trump has said he is considering expanding the campaign by ordering strikes on drug targets on land.
The military buildup and the boat strikes have drawn stiff criticism from the governments of Venezuela and Colombia. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — whom the U.S. has accused of collaborating with drug cartels — has accused Mr. Trump of seeking regime change.