Two killed in a U.S. strike on a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean

SadaNews - The U.S. military announced late Friday to Saturday that it killed two individuals in a strike targeting a boat suspected of drug trafficking, raising the toll of Washington's campaign against "drug terrorists" in Latin America to at least 182 casualties.

The U.S. Southern Command stated in a press release on the X platform that it carried out a "fatal military strike on a vessel operated by organizations classified as terrorists."

It added, "Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was traversing known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was involved in drug smuggling operations," repeating the same language used to describe many of these operations since the campaign began in September last year.

U.S. military officials had announced at least seven similar strikes in April, bringing the total number of fatalities in these operations to at least 182, according to statistics from Agence France-Presse.

The Trump administration did not provide any conclusive evidence regarding the boats targeted in drug trafficking, raising questions about the legality of these operations.

Experts in international law and human rights organizations argue that these strikes likely constitute extrajudicial killings, as they appear to target civilians who do not pose a direct threat to the United States.