US Military Strikes Alleged Drug Smuggling Boat, Killing 4 in the Caribbean

- The U.S. military carried out a strike on another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Saturday, resulting in the deaths of 4 individuals, according to U.S. Southern Command. Southern Command wrote on the platform "X" (formerly Twitter): "On September 19, under the direction of Southern Command, the Joint Task Force of the Western Hemisphere conducted a lethal kinetic strike targeting a fast boat traveling through known drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean."

The U.S. Southern Command indicated that there is "confirmed intelligence information" regarding the boat's involvement in drug trafficking operations. The U.S. military has killed at least 234 people in strikes that destroyed at least 80 vessels, as part of a campaign that Washington claims aims to reduce the flow of drugs into the United States, based on official announcements and an analysis conducted by the Afaq News network on search and rescue operations.