The United States Southern Command carried out this Saturday two lethal strikes against vessels of designated terrorist organizations in the Eastern Pacific, resulting in the deaths of five narco-terrorists and leaving one survivor, marking a new escalation in the Trump administration's anti-narcotics campaign.
The operation was ordered by General Francis L. Donovan, commander of Southern Command, and carried out by the Southern Spear Joint Task Force, the military arm of Operation Southern Spear, launched in the fall of 2025.
In the first attack, two men died and one survived. In the second, three men lost their lives. No members of the U.S. military were injured.
Southern Command confirmed that military intelligence verified that both vessels were traveling through known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were involved in active drug trafficking operations.
The institution summarized the goal of the campaign in one sentence: "Applying total systemic friction on the cartels".
After the first attack, Southern Command immediately notified the United States Coast Guard to activate the survivor search and rescue system.
Subsequently, the Mexican Navy took control of that mission approximately 830 kilometers southeast of Acapulco, in international waters, confirming that the attacks occurred outside any territorial jurisdiction, reported Mexico News Daily.
The Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed that Mexican authorities have taken control of the rescue effort. Mexico has maintained a low-confrontation stance in response to U.S. attacks in waters adjacent to its territory, even undertaking humanitarian efforts without issuing formal public condemnations.
Saturday's attacks are part of a campaign that has reached an unprecedented intensity.
Since the onset of Operation Southern Spear, the total number of dead narco-terrorists exceeded 163 in early April 2026. Just in February, under the newly assumed command of General Donovan, at least six attacks were recorded, resulting in 24 deaths. On March 8, a strike in the Eastern Pacific killed six narco-terrorists; on March 25, another attack in the Caribbean left four dead.
The Joint Task Force Southern Spear was established in October 2025 based on the II Marine Expeditionary Force.
Secretary Hegseth formally introduced it in November of that year, integrating ground, air, and logistics forces, as well as robotic surface vessels, interceptor boats, and vertical takeoff and landing drones.
By the end of November 2025, the United States had amassed the largest military presence in the Western Hemisphere since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.
The legal framework for the operation is based on the designation of six Mexican cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations —Sinaloa, Jalisco New Generation Cartel, Gulf Cartel, Northeast Cartel, New Michoacán Family, and United Cartels— made on February 19, 2025 by an executive order from Trump signed on the first day of his administration. This designation allows members of these groups to be treated as terrorist combatants under the law of armed conflict, enabling the use of lethal force in international waters.
Organizations like the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) have criticized the attacks as illegal extrajudicial executions under international law, arguing that this prohibits attacking individuals without evidence of an imminent threat and without due process. The debate over the legality of the strikes remains ongoing as the military campaign shows no signs of slowing down.
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