U.S. military forces carried out a strike on a vessel that was engaged in narco-trafficking operations in the Eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing one man and leaving two survivors, according to U.S. Southern Command.
The action was conducted by Joint Task Force Southern Spear under the leadership of SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.
Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting known narco-trafficking routes and was working in narco-trafficking operations, the command said in a statement posted on its official X account.
“One male narco-terrorists was killed during this action, and there were two male survivors,” the statement read. “Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors. No U.S. military forces were harmed.”
Details on the nationalities of those designated as narco-terrorists were not immediately released.
The Eastern Pacific is a primary corridor for narco-trafficking, with vessels often deploying go-fast boats or other small craft to avoid detection while transporting large quantities of narcotics northward.
Tuesday’s strike is the latest in a series of operations under Donovan’s leadership since taking charge of U.S. Southern Command on Feb. 5, where he oversees all military operations and partnerships across Latin America and the Caribbean.
The first U.S. strike targeting designated narco-terrorists was reported in September 2025 in the Caribbean, with operations expanding into the Eastern Pacific in October of that year.
The command describes these operations as part of a broader effort to put pressure on drug trafficking networks that the command ties to designated terrorist organizations.
The Associated Press reported on June 4 that at least 207 people have been killed in these strikes.
Operation Southern Spear represents a sustained U.S. military effort to stifle the flow of narcotics and limit the capabilities of organizations designated as terrorist groups, which U.S. authorities say use drug trafficking as part of irregular operations that threaten the homeland and contribute to deaths from overdoses across the United States.
In March, the operation took its first steps onto land, with U.S. and Ecuadorian forces launching joint operations against designated terrorist organizations inside Ecuador.
“Together, we are taking decisive action to confront narco-terrorists who have long inflicted terror, violence, and corruption on citizens throughout the hemisphere,” the command said at the time.
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