US military conducts strike on another vessel carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing 2
The U.S. military on Sunday announced a lethal strike on another vessel in the Caribbean carrying alleged narco-traffickers, killing two people.
The U.S. Southern Command said it conducted a "lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations" at the direction of the leader of the Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan of the Marine Corps.
The military claimed, citing intelligence, that the vessel "was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."
ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED AS US FORCES STRIKE SUSPECTED DRUG-TRAFFICKING VESSEL IN CARIBBEAN
There were six male survivors in addition to the two men killed in the strike.
"Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors," the military said.
This is the latest attack that the Trump administration has said was launched in an attempt to eliminate alleged narco-terrorists, with the death toll in these strikes carried out since September sitting at more than 200.
The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed in the strikes since last fall or provide evidence of drugs on board.
The administration has been scrutinized in recent months over the strikes by Democrats and even some Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.
"I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God's inspiration in life, but they don't give a s‑‑- about these people in the boats," Paul said in January. "Are they terrible people in the boats? I don't know. They're probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia."
The senator previously cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.
The attacks have also been denounced by human rights groups as "extrajudicial killings."
