WASHINGTON, United States: The US military said it killed five alleged drug traffickers aboard two vessels in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, taking the overall death toll in Washington´s campaign to more than 100 people.
Under President Donald Trump, US forces have carried out numerous strikes in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September.
The administration has provided no evidence that the targeted boats were involved in drug trafficking, prompting debate about the legality of these operations.
The latest attacks hit two vessels in international waters that were “engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US military´s Southern Command said on X.
Three people were killed in the first vessel and two in the second vessel, it said.
Since the start of the campaign, the strikes have now killed 104 people, according to an AFP tally based on official data.
Thursday´s operation came the same day Trump claimed he did not need lawmakers´s approval to strike suspected drug cartels on land in Venezuela, citing concerns over information leaks.
“I wouldn´t mind telling them, but you know, it´s not a big deal. I don´t have to tell them,” he said in the Oval Office. Democratic lawmakers have maintained that the Trump administration needs congressional authorization to use the military for the purported anti-drug campaign.
