US military says 2 killed in boat strike, with 1 survivor
By Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, CNN
(CNN) — The US military conducted a strike against another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing two people with one survivor, according to US Southern Command.
“On Feb. 9, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” SOUTHCOM said on X, noting the US Coast Guard had been notified to activate a search and rescue mission for the survivor.
A Coast Guard spokesperson told CNN in a statement that “Maritime Rescue Coordination Center Ecuador has assumed coordination of search and rescue operations,” and that USCG would provide technical support.
At least 121 people have now been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats as part of Operation Southern Spear, a campaign the Trump administration says is aimed at curtailing narcotics trafficking.
The administration has labeled those killed as “unlawful combatants” and claimed the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a classified Justice Department finding.
Monday’s boat strike is the third publicly known attack of the year, and the second to leave a survivor. A strike in January killed two people and left one survivor.
The administration has publicly presented little evidence that those killed in Operation Southern Spear are affiliated with drug cartels, or that each of the vessels had drugs on them.
The legality of the strikes has also come under intense scrutiny in Congress since the operations began in September. There is including particular interest in the first attack on September 2, which included a follow-up strike that killed two crew members who had initially survived. Multiple current and former military lawyers previously told CNN the strikes do not appear lawful.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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