VIDEO The first drug ship destroyed by the US in the Pacific, after the fall of the Maduro regime
The United States carried out a deadly attack on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday. Photo source: X video capture / US Southern Command
The United States carried out a deadly attack on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday. This is the first such crackdown since the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on January 3, according to CBS News.
With two soldiers dead and one survivor, this intervention represents the 35th attack in a series of strikes initiated on September 2, 2025, according to the report provided by the US Southern Command.
“The information collected confirmed the fact that the vessel was using established routes for the transport of narcotics in the eastern Pacific, being directly involved in smuggling activities”, stated the representatives of the Southern Command.
The military reported that the US Coast Guard had received instructions to launch a search and rescue operation for the person who survived the strike.
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… pic.twitter.com/BzeBBapfMQ
— US Southern Command (@Southcom) January 23, 2026
The military campaign launched by the Trump administration in 2025 to eradicate drug routes has so far resulted in at least 117 deaths among people aboard the targeted vessels, according to data compiled by CBS News based on official reports.
Friday's strike comes after a hiatus of several weeks, with the last attack reported on December 31, the very eve of the operation to capture Maduro. The US government accuses Maduro of coordinating drug trafficking in complicity with groups classified as terrorist organizations, accusations that he continues to deny.
Earlier this month, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, pleaded not guilty in federal court to charges of drug trafficking and weapons violations.
About a week after the operation to extract Maduro from Venezuela, President Trump declared a suspension of the “second wave” of offensives, but specified that naval units would be maintained in the region to “ensure safety and security.”
Around that time, a Democratic initiative to limit war powers in relation to Venezuela had garnered enough Republican support to be debated in the Senate, but the White House managed to mobilize enough Republican supporters to block the bill.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives narrowly rejected a new resolution proposed by Democrats to curtail military prerogatives in response to the armed intervention in Venezuela.
