US Military Strikes Caribbean Vessel, Killing 3 in Ongoing “Southern Spear” Campaign
SAN JUAN — The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed on Friday that it conducted a lethal strike against a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. The operation marks the latest escalation in “Operation Southern Spear,” a controversial anti-narcotics campaign that has drawn intensified scrutiny from international human rights bodies and U.S. lawmakers.
According to a statement from SOUTHCOM, the strike was carried out on February 13 at the direction of General Francis L. Donovan, commander of U.S. Southern Command. Military officials identified the three deceased individuals as “narco-terrorists” and stated the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement released on social media. The command released aerial footage purporting to show the moment of the strike, in which the vessel is seen engulfed in flames. Officials noted that no U.S. military personnel were injured in the operation.
Background: Operation Southern Spear
The strike is part of a broader, intensified military initiative launched last September by the Trump administration, aimed at disrupting illicit trafficking routes in the Western Hemisphere. Under the banner of Operation Southern Spear, U.S. forces have executed at least 39 similar strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, resulting in a cumulative death toll of approximately 133 people.
The campaign represents a significant shift in U.S. drug interdiction policy, moving from traditional seizure and arrest missions to lethal kinetic strikes. The administration has justified these actions by designating certain drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, a legal maneuver officials argue allows for military engagement under authorization for the use of military force. This operational tempo has continued following the U.S. capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January, an event the administration claimed would destabilize regional trafficking networks.
Growing Legal and Humanitarian Objections
While the Pentagon maintains the strikes are necessary to protect the U.S. homeland from “poison” brought by transnational criminal organizations, the strategy faces mounting objections regarding its legality and transparency.
Legal experts and human rights advocates have raised alarms that these operations may amount to extrajudicial killings. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has previously urged an independent investigation into the strikes, warning of “strong indications” that international law is being violated. Critics point out that “narco-terrorism” is a nebulous classification that may not provide sufficient legal grounds for lethal force against civilian vessels outside of an active war zone.
Furthermore, administration officials have faced criticism from Congress for failing to provide public evidence connecting the specific targets of these strikes to designated terrorist groups or proving the presence of narcotics on board the destroyed vessels. The lack of judicial review or survivor accounts—due to the lethal nature of the strikes—has created what some lawmakers describe as a “accountability vacuum.”
“We are seeing a pattern where the distinction between law enforcement and military warfare is being erased,” said a legal analyst specializing in maritime law. “Striking a boat based on intelligence without an attempt to interdict or arrest sets a precarious precedent for rules of engagement in international waters.”
Despite these objections, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has vowed that the campaign will continue “indefinitely” until narcotics trafficking operations cease, signaling that Friday’s strike is unlikely to be the last.
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