US Military Kills 2 in Eastern Pacific Boat Strike as Drug-War Death Toll Reaches 207
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 4
US Military Kills 2 in Eastern Pacific Boat Strike as Drug-War Death Toll Reaches 207
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 4
Summary
Two men were killed Wednesday when the US military struck a boat in the eastern Pacific that Southern Command said was using known drug-smuggling routes.
The attack extends the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged Latin American “narcoterrorists,” bringing deaths from US boat strikes since early September to at least 207.
Southern Command again provided no evidence the vessel was carrying drugs, fueling criticism that the strikes may be ineffective because fentanyl reaching the US is typically moved overland from Mexico.
Legal scrutiny has intensified since a September strike in which survivors clinging to wreckage were hit again and killed; the Pentagon inspector general said in May it would review targeting procedures, not the strikes’ legality.