The United States Southern Command carried out a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel in the Eastern Pacific this Wednesday, as part of Operation Southern Spear, according to a confirmation from SOUTHCOM on its X account.
The attack was ordered by the commander of SOUTHCOM, General Francis L. Donovan, and was carried out by the Southern Spear Joint Task Force.
Two men identified as "narco-terrorists" died during the operation. No American military personnel were injured.
According to the official statement, intelligence confirmed that the vessel was navigating known drug trafficking routes and was involved in drug trafficking operations. SOUTHCOM indicated that the boat was operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations."
Along with the statement, Southern Command published a nighttime aerial surveillance image captured with an infrared camera, showing the vessel from a drone or aircraft with an active tracking grid and the label "UNCLASSIFIED" at the top.
The attack occurs a day after another lethal strike carried out on Wednesday under the same operation, reflecting a very high operational tempo in recent weeks.
The Southern Spear Operation was launched in September 2025 by the Trump administration and authorizes the use of lethal military force against vessels linked to drug trafficking in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
It is part of the policy to designate drug cartels as terrorist organizations, which allows for direct military actions against them without prior judicial proceedings.
The statement was labeled with @DeptofWar —the name with which the Trump administration rebranded the Department of Defense— and with the hashtag #OpSouthernSpear, in line with the communication pattern that SOUTHCOM has maintained in all previous attacks.
Since General Donovan took command of SOUTHCOM on February 5, 2026, the attacks have intensified.
Among the documented strikes this year are six dead on March 8, five dead in two simultaneous attacks on April 13 and 14, three dead on April 15, and two dead on May 9.
At a conference of defense chiefs from the Western Hemisphere held in February, Donovan warned that the operation sent an "unequivocal message" that "common spaces will not be a sanctuary" for shared adversaries, and described narco-terrorist organizations as groups that "traffic drugs, weapons, and human beings," as well as engaging in illegal mining, logging, and fishing.
According to data from Wikipedia, the total number of deaths in Operation Southern Spear reached 197 individuals as of May 8, 2026, including seven missing and presumed dead, three captured, and two extradited. The two fatalities from yesterday further increase that number.
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