The US military says it struck two boats it alleges were carrying drugs on Wednesday, killing five people on board.
US Southern Command did not specify the location of the latest strikes but noted that US forces have been targeting vessels suspected of smuggling narcotics through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific over the past three months.
This recent operation follows a prior strike, where US forces reported hitting 'three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy,' resulting in at least three fatalities.
The Trump administration has framed these operations as a non-international armed conflict against alleged traffickers; however, legal experts warn that such actions may violate international conflict laws.
To date, the military has conducted over 30 strikes in this ongoing 'war on drugs', with more than 110 fatalities since the first attack on September 2, which has drawn significant scrutiny.
Notably, there are concerns surrounding the legality of a 'double-tap' strike from that first incident, where survivors of an initial attack were reportedly killed in a subsequent strike.
On December 30, a convoy of three boats was attacked, with reports indicating there were survivors. US Southern Command noted that those remaining on the vessels abandoned them before subsequent engagements sank the boats.
Current reports indicate that eight survivors are being sought, but their status remains unclear. The US military has not provided evidence corroborating the drug trafficking allegations against the targeted vessels, despite claims from Southern Command that they were operating along known drug routes.
