US Resumes Anti-Drug Operations in the Region After Two Months, Two Dead After Vessel Struck in the Pacific

The United States military announced this morning that it struck a vessel suspected of being used for drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. This marks the first known operation of this kind in more than two months.

According to the U.S. Southern Command, SOUTHCOM, the strike was carried out on Sunday and resulted in the deaths of two people who were on board.

“The Joint Interagency Task Force West of the Hemisphere conducted a lethal strike against a low-profile vessel operating along designated drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific,” SOUTHCOM stated on the X platform.

Based on available data, this is the first such action since June 21. The reason why operations in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific had been halted remains unknown.

Prior to this pause, the U.S. military had destroyed at least 67 vessels and killed at least 221 people since the launch of Operation Southern Spear in September 2025. The figures are based on official announcements and CNN’s analysis of search and rescue operations.

The Trump administration has notified Congress that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, and has classified those killed during these operations as “unlawful combatants.”

Simultaneously, the U.S. government states that it can carry out lethal strikes without prior judicial review, citing a secret Department of Justice opinion.

This approach has been opposed by members of Congress and human rights organizations. According to critics, individuals suspected of drug trafficking should be arrested and face justice, as was the stated U.S. interdiction policy before Donald Trump took office.

Law enforcement officials and experts have also raised questions about the Trump administration’s strategy and the possibility of it producing significant changes in the region’s drug trade.