The Department of War launched its first strike of 2026 on a suspected drug-carrying boat Friday evening.
U.S. Southern Command announced that the strike targeted a vessel operated by members of Designated Terrorist Organizations. Friday’s mission also marks the first strike since the Trump administration ousted former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro from power.
“On Jan. 23, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM wrote on X.
The strike killed two of the suspected narco-terrorists and left one survivor. The release did not indicate what country the boat was traveling from.
“Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived the strike. Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified @USCG to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor,” SOUTHCOM wrote.
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Of the at least 35 drug boat strikes in the Caribbean throughout President Donald Trump’s second term, several of them have left survivors, including one that led to the War Department’s “kill everybody” double-tap strike from September.
Most recently, a Dec. 31st strike left approximately eight survivors in the water who jumped overboard. The coast guard initiated a search and rescue for the survivors, but suspended the mission after over 65 hours of searching and 1,090 nautical miles covered.
