As the US Southern Command said in a statement, the attack on the boat, which according to intelligence data was used for drug smuggling, was carried out on Monday.
The boat was traveling along an eastern Pacific route used by smugglers. As a result of the “lethal kinetic attack”, two men were killed, whom the command described as “narco-terrorists”. It was reported that none of the American soldiers were hurt.
In total, at least 170 people have died since September as a result of attacks on suspected smugglers' boats.
Donald Trump at war with the cartels
Critics have questioned both the legality of the boat attacks and their effectiveness. They point out that fentanyl, the cause of many tragic overdoses, is usually smuggled into the US by land from Mexico, where it is manufactured from intermediates imported from China and India.
The Associated Press points out that attacks on boats in Latin America continue even when the US military is concentrated in the Middle East region.
