US military strikes kill 11 on alleged drug boats in Pacific and Caribbean
American forces attacked three vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean on Monday, marking the deadliest day of the Trump administration's five-month campaign against suspected drug smugglers at sea.
February 17, 2026
American military forces conducted three strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats late Monday, killing 11 men in operations spanning the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command announced Tuesday.
Four men died on the first vessel in the Eastern Pacific, four on a second vessel also in the Eastern Pacific, and three on a third vessel in the Caribbean, according to the military announcement. The strikes were conducted at the direction of US Southern Command commander General Francis L. Donovan.
US Southern Command posted video footage of the operations on social media showing the three boats being destroyed. One vessel appeared to be moving at high speed with outboard motors visible, while the other two appeared stationary in the water at the time of the strikes. Video footage also showed people moving inside two of the vessels before the attacks.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations," US Southern Command said in a statement. The military did not provide additional details confirming the intelligence assessment shown in the video.
The strikes marked the deadliest single day of operations in the Trump administration's campaign against suspected drug traffickers at sea. No US military personnel were injured in the operation.
The campaign began in September when President Donald Trump called on American armed forces to attack people deemed "narco-terrorists" on small vessels. Since then, US forces have conducted more than 40 strikes in notorious drug-trafficking routes including the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to reporting by the Associated Press.
The cumulative death toll from the campaign has reached at least 144 to 145 people, depending on the source. The frequency of strikes has increased notably in recent months, according to available reports.
The triple strike late Monday was the first time the Trump administration bombed targets on both sides of the Panama Canal on the same day during its five-month campaign. The strikes occurred after the aircraft carrier Gerald Ford, which had been deployed to Caribbean waters in October as part of the Southern Spear mission against drug trafficking, departed the region.