3 Killed in US Airstrike in the Caribbean

SadaNews - US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that three individuals were killed in an airstrike carried out by American forces against a boat suspected of drug trafficking in Caribbean waters, marking the latest episode in a series of controversial military operations executed by Washington in the region.

Hegseth clarified in a post on the platform "X" that the strike "hit another drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean region," confirming that "three men, believed to be drug trafficking terrorists, were on board during the strike that occurred in international waters, and they were all killed."

This operation is part of a broader military campaign launched by the United States in the Caribbean since early September, during which it deployed warships and sent F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico with the aim, according to the Pentagon, of "stopping the flow of drugs into American territory."

According to data from the US Department of Defense, over 15 airstrikes in recent weeks have resulted in the deaths of at least 65 individuals believed to be linked to drug trafficking networks. However, these operations have garnered increasing criticism from countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, which viewed the attacks as violations of international law and extrajudicial killings.

Legal experts believe that the absence of public evidence proving the involvement of the targeted individuals in trafficking or terrorism puts these operations in a position of legal accountability, especially since they are conducted in international waters.

But Hegseth emphasized that his country will continue what he called the "hunting and killing of terrorist drug dealers," asserting that Washington "will not allow threats to its national security through trafficking routes in the Caribbean."