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The US military has killed three people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
According to an AFP tally, the US military officials have claimed at least six strikes in April, which brings the controversial campaign’s death toll to at least 180.
President Donald Trump’s administration maintains that they are at war with what it calls “narco-terrorists” in Latin America, and began targeting suspected drug-smuggling boats last September.
US Southern Command, which is in charge of Washington’s forces in the region, said it carried out a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations.”
It stated in a post on X, “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action”.
On April 19, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, 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… pic.twitter.com/yMtPhXBdNn
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) April 20, 2026
The Trump administration has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.
According to international legal experts and rights groups, the strikes likely result in extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who are not an immediate threat to the United States.
