“On January 23, at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Lance conducted a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel operated by designated terrorist organizations,” the statement said.
As noted by the US Southern Command, American intelligence confirmed that the ship was transiting known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and was involved in drug trafficking operations.
“Two narco-terrorists were killed and one survived. Following the encounter, Southern Command immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate a search and rescue system for the survivor,” the statement said.
Context
In August 2025, the White House announced its readiness to “use all elements of power” to stop “the flow of drugs into the country.”
September 2 The US showed a video of an attack on a ship from Venezuelawhich allegedly transported drugs in the Caribbean. Later, videos of new attacks on ships were also shown by US President Donald Trump (for example, September 15 and September 20), and Hegseth (October 3, November 7), and the Pentagon Southern Command (strikes were also in the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea).
On October 18, the United States notified the destruction of a submarine that allegedly transported drugs and was heading to the United States. On December 22, the United States sank another submarine.
CNN estimated that as of December 30, During Operation Southern Lance, attacks on ships suspected of carrying drugs killed at least 107 people.
