“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Southern Command posted on social media. “Three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed.”
“The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific and was struck in international waters,” per the announcement.
The latest attack brings the total number of people killed by the US military’s strikes on the alleged drug boats to 83. CNN has reported that the military is using a variety of fighter jets, drones and gunships to carry out the strikes in the campaign officials say is meant to disrupt the flow of drugs into the US.
The attack comes days after a Defense Department official said the US conducted its 20th strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat last week.
The Justice Department has told Congress the administration does not need its approval to carry out the strikes, which some experts have said could violate US and international law. The ongoing campaign has also begun to surface tensions with allies; the United Kingdom has stopped sharing intelligence with the US about suspected drug-trafficking vessels to avoid being complicit in the strikes, CNN reported last week, which the UK believes are illegal.
The president of Colombia also said last week that he had ordered his country to suspend intelligence sharing with the US until the attacks stop.
