June 22 (UPI) — The U.S. military killed two men in its latest strike targeting a suspected drug-trafficking boat in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command announced late Sunday, lifting the monthslong operation’s death toll to at least 213.
The strike left six survivors, according to SOUTHCOM, which said in a statement that it immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search-and-rescue operations.
The condition of the survivors was not known. The Coast Guard confirmed to UPI that it was notified by SOUTHCOM of six people in distress in the Caribbean, and said the Rescue Coordination Center Venezuela had assumed search operations. UPI has contacted RCC for an update.
There have been 66 known U.S. strikes targeting boats suspected of being in the process of transporting drugs through international waters of the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in a handful of survivors, though it was unclear how many were rescued.
As with previous strikes, SOUTHCOM alleged, without providing any proof, that the boat targeted was “operated by a designated terrorist organization.”
Though the campaign began with the first boat strike on Sept. 2, the Trump administration paved its foundation with an executive order President Donald Trump signed on his first day in office permitting the designation of Latin American cartels and gangs as terrorist organizations.
The list of gangs and cartels the Trump administration has designated as terrorist groups has grown to 17 since the first were named in February.
Trump has claimed the United States is in “armed conflict” with these groups, and his administration cites the terrorist designations in defending the use of the military to combat what it describes as narco-terrorism.
SOUTHCOM’s near-identical strike announcements have stated that “intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” in either the Pacific or the Caribbean “and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
No proof has been made public.
A 10-second, black-and-white aerial video of the Sunday strike shared by SOUTHCOM shows a boat speeding across the water before it is hit by a projectile and erupts into smoke and flames.
On June 21, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/34cDvvcwxe— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 22, 2026
The United States has been repeatedly criticized for the strikes by Democrats at home and rights groups, as well as the United Nations, abroad, who say they are extrajudicial killings.
Democrats have been demanding information about the operation since the first few strikes were made public, and last week, senators filed legislation that would pressure Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to hand over unredacted documents and unredacted video concerning the attacks.
The lawmakers have condemned the strikes as unauthorized use of force in what are ostensibly law enforcement activities, killing individuals who have not been charged, tried or sentenced for any crimes.
They also criticize the campaign’s effectiveness, stating drugs, such as cocaine, are trafficked by boat from South America, often to Europe, while fentanyl is usually trafficked overland.
Ben Saul, the U.N.’s special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, has been among the most vocal critics of the strikes, calling Trump’s so-called war on narco-terrorism “phony.” Colombian President Gustavo Petro has also accused Trump of murdering a fisherman in a strike early in the operation.
In May, the Office of Inspector General for the Department of Defense announced the launch of an evaluation into whether SOUTHCOM was following policies when attacking boats in the Pacific and Caribbean.
Sunday’s strike was the third conducted since Tuesday and the fourth this month, killing at least eight people. The status of two survivors from a strike last week was not known.
The fate of many of the survivors has been left unclear. In at least one case, the Coast Guard told UPI that search-and-rescue operations were suspended after finding no signs of survivors.
In October, President Donald Trump said two survivors from a strike had been repatriated to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia for prosecution.
