Translation result
By Kim Bo-young, Herald Economy — U.S. forces struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific suspected of carrying drugs, killing three people, Southcom said. The strike pushed the cumulative death toll from the operation, which began in early September, past 200.
On the 30th (local time), CBS News reported that U.S. Southern Command said it had carried out strikes the previous day against vessels suspected of ferrying narcotics between the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
Southcom said on social media that “under the direction of SOUTHCOM commander Francis L. Donovan, a joint special operations task force executed a lethal military strike against a vessel operated by a terrorist organization.” The command added that intelligence indicated the vessel was moving along drug-trafficking routes and was involved in narcotics operations.
Southcom said three male members of the trafficking group were killed and that U.S. forces suffered no casualties. The command also said it would continue sustained pressure on the drug cartels across all domains.
Released video shows the vessel engulfed in flames after the strike. The footage also captures several objects scattering around the burning ship.
CBS reported the airstrike took the operation’s total deaths past 200. The Trump administration launched operations in September of last year to destroy vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean, that were suspected of involvement in drug smuggling.
The administration framed the effort as a campaign against Latin American drug cartels, which it says are a primary driver of the deadly overdose crisis affecting many U.S. communities.
U.S. forces also struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific on the 27th, killing two men, and on the 26th they struck a ship traveling along trafficking routes, killing one person and rescuing two, the military said.
Legal experts and some Democratic lawmakers have questioned the legality of the strikes, saying authorities have not publicly released evidence proving the targeted vessels were carrying drugs.
The campaign drew particular controversy after last September’s Caribbean strikes, when reporting suggested survivors of an initial attack later died in a second strike. The New York Times reported footage that it said showed two men who survived the first attack waving as if seeking rescue just before the second strike.
The White House acknowledged the second strike occurred but said it was a lawful and justified action aimed at fully neutralizing the vessel.
Most Commented