The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed on Monday a deadly attack against a boat allegedly linked to drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific, in international waters, as part of the military operation known as “Operation Southern Spear.”
According to the statement on the social media platform X, the operation was carried out on December 29, under the orders of U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and was executed by the Southern Spear Joint Task Force through a lethal kinetic attack on the vessel.
U.S. authorities confirmed that intelligence information indicated the boat was traveling through known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was being operated by organizations designated as terrorist groups, involved in drug trafficking activities.
As a result of the attack, two male crew members, whom the Southern Command described as "narcoterrorists," died on the spot.
The video of the attack was also shared in the post on the mentioned social network, reinforcing the commitment of the United States to disrupt and dismantle drug trafficking networks operating in international waters, which, according to Washington, pose a direct threat to regional security.
The operation is backed by the Department of Defense and the United States Strategic Command (US STRATCOM), in a context of increased military pressure against transnational criminal organizations that combine drug trafficking activities with armed structures.
The operation “Lanza del Sur” is part of a broader strategy by the United States to combat drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, particularly in maritime corridors of the Pacific and the Caribbean.
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