US Strikes Narcoterrorist Vessel in Eastern Pacific, Killing 3

The U.S. ‌military said on May 30 it conducted another deadly strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific that was operated by narcoterrorists belonging to designated terrorist organizations.

It was the seventh such strike in the month of May.

The three “male narco-terrorists” aboard the drug-trafficking vessel were killed in the operation by Joint Task Force Southern Spear, U.S. Southern Command said ‌in ⁠a post on X.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” it added. “No ​U.S. military ⁠forces were harmed.”

A day earlier, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted another lethal strike on a vessel “engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

SOUTHCOM said it is “unwavering in its commitment to applying total systemic friction on the cartels.”

The task force was formed to action maritime interdictions for disrupting illicit maritime activity within the Western Hemisphere. War Secretary Pete Hegseth formally unveiled Operation Southern Spear on Nov. 13, 2025, and the task force has periodically engaged narco-trafficking vessels identified to be traveling to the United States through international waters.

The task force is under the leadership of U.S. Southern Command’s Gen. Francis L. Donovan, based in Doral, Florida. The command oversees U.S. military operations across Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions aimed at dismantling drug trafficking networks that threaten U.S. interests.

According to a tally by the New York University School of Law’s journal Just Security, there have been 61 U.S. military strikes on designated narco-terrorist vessels as part of Operation Southern Spear as of May 29, with 202 killed, including 15 missing/presumed dead, and three known survivors who have all been repatriated to Ecuador, Colombia, and Costa Rica. The U.S. military operations against the narco-terrorist networks in the southern theater began on Sept. 2, 2025.

These efforts have dealt a “critical blow to narco-terrorist networks and other illicit or sanctioned activities,” SOUTHCOM said in an update in April.

Donovan noted during testimony to Congress in March that drug cartels had altered their trafficking methods due to the strikes, forcing them to use new shipping methods, including air traffic or shipping containers instead of small boats, and utilize transit routes farther west into the Pacific.

The operation took its first step onto land in March, partnering with Ecuadorian forces to launch 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,” SOUTHCOM said at the time.

Kimberly Hayek contributed to this report.