US military says it killed four in strike on alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean

The U.S. military conducted a strike on a boat believed to be involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea on Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of four individuals, according to a report by Associated Press (AP). This follows a month-long campaign by the Trump administration targeting alleged traffickers in Latin America. The latest incident adds to a total of at least 227 people killed in such military strikes since the Trump administration started its operations almost a year ago, though the military did not provide evidence confirming the boat was carrying drugs.

The attack occurred two days after another strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which killed two people accused of drug trafficking. In recent months, the Trump administration has been working on agreements with allied nations to expand its offensive operations across multiple Latin American countries. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras had agreed to the joint operations, although Guatemala denied reaching such an agreement.

Ecuador has already carried out similar missions with the U.S. in March. President Trump has claimed the U.S. is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America, justifying the military actions as necessary to curb drug trafficking and overdoses in the United States. However, the administration has not presented substantial evidence to support these claims of killing smugglers, and critics have questioned both the legality and effectiveness of the boat strikes.

Some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars have raised concerns about the overall legality of these operations, as well as their effectiveness, particularly given that the majority of the fentanyl behind fatal overdoses is typically transported to the U.S. overland from Mexico, where it is produced using chemicals imported from China and India.