Details of the military operation
The U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced Tuesday that it had conducted a precision military operation that killed 11 people aboard three separate boats suspected of being used for drug trafficking. In an official statement released via the X platform, the command explained that the strikes, carried out Monday evening, targeted two boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people (four on each boat), while the third boat was targeted in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of three more. The command's statement included a video documenting the moment the boats were targeted, showing two of them completely stationary while the third was sailing at high speed, reflecting the diverse tactics employed by smugglers.
General context: The US war on drugs
This operation comes within the context of the decades-long “war on drugs” waged by the United States, a long-term strategy aimed at combating the flow of illicit drugs into its territory. The Caribbean and the eastern Pacific are vital corridors used by Latin American drug cartels, particularly from countries like Colombia and Ecuador, to transport massive shipments of cocaine and other narcotics northward to Mexico and Central America, and from there to the United States. The U.S. Southern Command plays a pivotal role in this effort, coordinating military and intelligence operations in these areas, in cooperation with U.S. law enforcement agencies and partner nations in the region, to disrupt these criminal networks.
Importance and potential impacts
Operationally, targeting and destroying these boats represents a direct blow to the logistical capabilities of smuggling networks, increasing the costs and risks of their operations. However, such strikes, which result in loss of life, raise significant legal and human rights concerns. While the US administration maintains that it is targeting “narco-terrorists” who pose a threat to national security, international law experts and human rights organizations question the legitimacy of using lethal force extrajudicially, especially in the absence of conclusive evidence that those targeted posed an imminent threat. They insist on adherence to international humanitarian law standards and guarantees that civilians are not targeted. Regionally, these operations could strain diplomatic relations between the United States and Latin American countries, which are caught between shared security cooperation and concerns about violations of national sovereignty.
