Three dead in US strike on boat in Caribbean

WASHINGTON:

A US strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the Caribbean Sea killed three people on Monday, the US military said.

The United States began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, and the latest strike brings the death toll from the campaign to at least 150.

US Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington's forces in the region, said the boat was "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations." Southern Command's post on X included a video of a stationary boat being destroyed in an explosion.

President Donald Trump's administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America. But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations.

International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians.