U.S. military strike kills three drug traffickers in Caribbean

The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced Friday that the U.S. military carried out an operation targeting suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean, leaving three people dead.

“On Feb. 13, 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,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X.

Aerial footage posted by SOUTHCOM shows the vessel being struck.

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“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the joint command added in the post.

Three narco-terrorists were killed during the operation, the joint command said.

No U.S. military personnel were harmed in the operation, the command added.

SOUTHCOM is responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions focused on disrupting drug trafficking networks that threaten U.S. interests.

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The U.S. has carried out at least 38 strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels, killing 133 people in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, as part of efforts to dismantle narco-terrorist networks operated by designated terrorist organizations.

Friday’s strike marks the fourth U.S. operation targeting alleged drug traffickers this year.

On Feb. 9, SOUTHCOM said the U.S. military carried out an operation targeting a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific that left two people dead.

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This is a developing story; check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.