US military kills two men in new strike on vessel in eastern Pacific

Latest attack brings death toll from US strikes on vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean to at least 170 since September.The ⁠United States military has ⁠carried out another attack on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people, in the latest deadly strike by US forces on boats that Washington alleges have links to Latin American drug trafficking cartels.US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), which is responsible for Washington’s military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, confirmed the attack in a post on social media late on Monday, claiming to have killed two “male narco-terrorists”, without providing any evidence.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4US confirms 157 killed in maritime strikes experts call ‘extrajudicial’list 2 of 4US says it struck alleged drug trafficking vessel in Pacific, killing twolist 3 of 4Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro under investigation in US for drug tieslist 4 of 4Four killed in latest US attack on alleged drug-smuggling boat in Caribbeanend of listSOUTHCOM claimed that, based on intelligence reports, the boat was “⁠transiting along known narco-trafficking routes ⁠in the ⁠Eastern Pacific” and was targeted with “a lethal kinetic strike” on the orders of US Commander General Francis L Donovan.A grainy video clip released with the statement shows a stationary boat with outboard engines and what appear to be floats from fishing nets nearby. The boat comes under attack from the air and explodes into flames.The attack marked the second day in a row that SOUTHCOM announced a deadly strike on boats in the Pacific. On Sunday, the US military said it blew up two boats in the Eastern Pacific a day earlier, killing five people and leaving one survivor. It was not immediately clear what happened to the person who survived the attack, though SOUTHCOM said the US coastguard was notified.With the attack on Monday, the US military has now killed at least 170 people in dozens of strikes on vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Ocean since September.