WASHINGTON, September 20, 2026: The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea on Saturday, killing four people whom the U.S. Southern Command said were involved in drug trafficking.
The Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, operating under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, targeted what officials described as a high-speed “go-fast” vessel travelling along established drug-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.
SOUTHCOM said intelligence had confirmed the vessel's involvement in narcotics trafficking and described those killed as “narco-terrorists.” The command also released video footage showing what appeared to be a moving vessel followed by a large explosion.
However, the U.S. military has not publicly released evidence showing that the vessel was carrying drugs, according to reports by the Associated Press and other outlets. Details about the exact location of the strike and the identities of those killed have also not been disclosed.
Part of wider US campaign
Saturday's operation is part of a broader U.S. military campaign against vessels the Trump administration says are connected to drug-trafficking organisations operating in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The latest strike brings the reported number of people killed in U.S. strikes against suspected drug-trafficking vessels to at least 231 in 69 operations over roughly the past year, according to AP.
The administration has defended the operations as necessary to disrupt the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States. President Donald Trump has described the United States as being in an armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels.
The campaign has also drawn criticism from rights groups, which have questioned the legal basis for carrying out lethal strikes against people suspected of drug trafficking without a conventional judicial process.
The latest operation comes about 10 days after another U.S. strike in the Caribbean in which the military said three people were killed.
