(NewsNation) — The U.S. military struck two convoys of alleged drug boats Tuesday and Wednesday, killing at least eight “narco-terrorists” and at one point launching a search for survivors, U.S. Southern Command announced on social media.
In the first strike, Dec. 30, armed forces destroyed three vessels in international waters that were “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes,” SOUTHCOM said Wednesday on X with an accompanying video of the Dec. 30 attack.
Three individuals were killed aboard one vessel, and crew members on the other two boats jumped overboard and distanced themselves before their ships were destroyed, SOUTHCOM said. The U.S. Coast Guard went into search-and-rescue mode, said SOUTHCOM, which did not offer additional details.
Later Wednesday, Southern Command announced a new attack that took place on New Year’s Eve. In this strike, officials said, five narco-terrorists were killed as the U.S. military destroyed two boats.
US military buildup seeks to pressure Venezuela
The announcement did not say where the deadly strikes occurred, but the Pentagon has built up forces in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific as the Trump Administration puts pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The White House has accused him of aiding drug traffickers in their attempts to flood the U.S. with illegal drugs.
In September, the Department of Defense began conducting “kinetic strikes” on dozens of alleged drug boats, killing more than 100 people to date. The strategy has spurred debate in Washington, largely along partisan lines, about whether Republican President Trump is exceeding his executive powers.
More recently, the Trump administration has shifted to seizing sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers in a bid to cripple the country’s economy.