Deadly Strikes: US Military Campaigns Intensify in Latin American Waters

The US military reported on Tuesday that it conducted airstrikes on three vessels accused of drug smuggling in Latin American waters. The strikes resulted in the deaths of 11 people, marking one of the deadliest incidents during President Donald Trump's law enforcement campaign.

Monday's operations increased the death toll to 145 since the Trump administration began targeting individuals labeled as 'narcoterrorists' using small boats in early September. The US Southern Command indicated that two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean with four people each were targeted. Additionally, a third boat carrying three people was struck in the Caribbean Sea.

Although the military provided no direct evidence that the attacked vessels were involved in drug trafficking, it released videos showing the destruction of the boats. President Trump has declared an 'armed conflict' with Latin American cartels, citing the need to curb drug flow as the rationale for these aggressive measures, yet the administration has supplied limited evidence to substantiate its claims of neutralizing 'narcoterrorists.'