US Military Announces Its 20th Boat Strike

The US military's 20th strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs has killed four people in the Caribbean Sea, the US military said Friday, coming as the Trump administration escalates its campaign in South American waters. The latest strike happened Monday, according to a social media post on Friday by US Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. The latest strike brings the death toll from the attacks that began in September to 80, with the Mexican navy suspending its search for a survivor of a strike in late October after four days, per the AP.

Southern Command's post on X shows a boat speeding over water before it's engulfed in flames. The command said intelligence confirmed the vessel "was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics." Southern Command's post marked a shift away from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's practice of typically announcing the attacks on social media, although he quickly reposted Southern Command's statement. Hegseth had announced the previous two strikes on Monday after they'd been carried out on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is expanding the US military's already large presence in the region by bringing in the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The nation's most advanced warship is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea. Hegseth on Thursday formally named the mission "Operation Southern Spear," emphasizing the growing significance and permanence of the military's presence in the region. Once the Ford arrives, the mission will encompass nearly a dozen Navy ships, as well as about 12,000 sailors and Marines.

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The Trump administration has insisted that the buildup of warships is focused on stopping the flow of drugs into the US, but it has released no evidence to support its assertions that those killed in the boats were "narcoterrorists." Trump has justified the attacks by saying the United States is in "armed conflict" with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations that are flooding America's cities with drugs. Lawmakers, including Republicans, have pressed for more information on who's being targeted and the legal justification for the strikes.