The U.S. military says it launched another strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people Friday. <\/p>\n
WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. military said it launched another strike Friday on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters has\u00a0persisted since early September<\/a> and killed at least 183 people in total. Other strikes have taken place\u00a0in the Caribbean Sea<\/a>.<\/p>\n The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.<\/p>\n The attacks began as the U.S. built up its largest military presence in the region in generations and came months ahead of the raid in January that\u00a0captured then-Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>. He was brought to New York to\u00a0face drug trafficking charges<\/a> and has pleaded not guilty.<\/p>\n In the latest attack Friday, U.S. Southern Command repeated previous statements by saying it had targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It posted a video on X showing a boat floating in the water before a explosion left it in flames.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in \u201carmed conflict\u201d with cartels in Latin America and has\u00a0justified the attacks<\/a> as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.<\/p>\n