US military says killed four in Caribbean boat strike

The US military announced on Saturday that it had killed four individuals on a boat in the Caribbean, alleging the vessel was engaged in drug smuggling activities. Confirmed intelligence confirmed the boat's involvement in narco-trafficking, resulting in the death of four narco-terrorists, according to SOUTHCOM, which commands US forces in the region.

The operation, named "Southern Spear," commenced in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing that the US is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America. To date, over 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to an AFP tally. However, the administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels struck are involved in drug trafficking, leading legal experts and rights groups to argue that the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.

Brief written by urgent.news from New Straits Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.