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SOUTHCOM said it notified the US Coast Guard of the ‘six men who survived’ without giving details of their rescue.
Updated on 22 Jun 2026
The US military has launched another attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least two people.
Sunday’s attack brings the number of ships hit to more than 60, with more than 210 people killed, since the US launched its “Southern Spear” operation in September.
The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a press release on Monday that the boat was operating in a known drug smuggling route but did not provide evidence that it was carrying drugs.
SOUTHCOM said it had notified the US Coast Guard of “six male survivors” without providing details about their rescue or condition.
A vivid black-and-white video accompanying the post showed the boat moving through the water before being hit by a projectile and engulfed in a huge explosion.
In a similar incident on June 16, US Central Command notified the US Coast Guard after two survivors were reported. The Coast Guard later called off their search, saying there were “no signs of survivors or debris”.
US President Donald Trump has described the US as being in an “armed conflict” with Latin American armed groups, calling it a necessary threat to eradicate drugs in the US. Critics question the legal basis and effectiveness of the campaign, with some noting that most fentanyl reaching the US is smuggled through Mexico.
On Thursday, US lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release “unedited footage” of the first strike carried out by the military after reports emerged that the US had decided to carry out the strike after survivors of its first strike.
The two men who were in the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine others, and they were clinging to the wreckage when the ship was hit again, killing them. The White House confirmed the subsequent strike, insisting it was carried out in “self-defense” to ensure the boat’s destruction and in accordance with the laws of war.
But some legal experts say a second strike to kill survivors would be illegal in any situation, war or not.
The Pentagon’s director general said in May he would review whether the military had followed through on the proposed measures, but the review would not review whether the strikes were justified.
