Overview:
The U.S. military says it carried out strikes on three suspected drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, killing eight people, as scrutiny in Congress intensifies over an expanding campaign targeting alleged narcotraffickers. The latest attacks add to a growing toll since early September, according to U.S. officials.
Tue 16 DecTuesday 16 December
In short:
(ABC-Australia) Eight people have been killed following strikes on three alleged narcotrafficking vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, according to the US military.
US Southern Command describes the people killed as narcoterrorists.
At least 95 people have died in 25 known boat strikes since early September.
The US military says it has attacked three boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people, as scrutiny over the boat strikes has intensified in Congress.
The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organisations”, killing three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat, and three in the third.
It did not provide evidence of their alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving through water before exploding.
President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and has asserted the US is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
But the Trump administration is facing increasing scrutiny from members of Congress over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first hit.
The latest boat strikes come on the eve of briefings on Capitol Hill for all members of Congress as questions mount over the Trump administration’s military campaign.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top national security officials are expected to provide closed-door briefings in the House and Senate.
The campaign has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the US.
In a sharp escalation last week, US forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration has accused of smuggling illicit crude.
Mr Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the US military operations is to force him from office.
The US military has built up its largest presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
Mr Trump says land attacks are coming soon, but has not offered any details on a location.
AP