U.S. Strike Kills 2 on Alleged Drug Boat, Pushing Toll Past 210

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 22

Thursday’s eastern Pacific strike killed two people on a boat the U.S. military said was using known smuggling routes and left six survivors, whose rescue status remained unclear.
More than 60 such strikes since early September have now killed over 210 people, as the Trump administration frames the campaign as an armed conflict with Latin American cartels.
The military released video of the boat being hit and erupting in flames but provided no evidence it was carrying drugs; in this case, as in a June 16 strike, Central Command said it alerted the Coast Guard.
Scrutiny is intensifying after lawmakers demanded unedited video of the first strike, where a confirmed follow-up attack killed two initial survivors, while Pentagon inspectors review targeting procedures rather than the strikes’ legality.