U.S. Southern Command announced on Thursday that it had carried out another strike on a small boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, marking the first such action after a pause that lasted nearly three weeks.
This latest operation represents the 22nd strike the U.S. military has conducted against boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean that the Trump administration has asserted were involved in drug-trafficking activities.
Thursday’s Strike Killed 4
According to the command’s social media statement, Thursday’s strike resulted in four fatalities, raising the death toll from the overall campaign to at least 87 people.
The announcement was accompanied by a video showing a small boat traveling across open water before it is suddenly engulfed in a massive explosion. The footage then widens to reveal the vessel burning intensely, with thick smoke rising into the air.
Lawmakers Question Strike Orders
The strike took place on the same day Adm. Frank ‘Mitch’ Bradley appeared on Capitol Hill for a series of classified, closed-door briefings as lawmakers launched an investigation into the initial military strike from Sept. 2. Those briefings followed reporting that Bradley had ordered an additional attack to kill surviving individuals in order to meet Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s expectations.
Bradley told lawmakers that there was no “kill them all” directive from Hegseth, though a stark video documenting the full sequence of attacks left some legislators with serious concerns.
