Four killed in a US attack on a drug smuggler's boat in the Caribbean

On Tuesday Washington attributed the deaths of "four narco-terrorists" to an attack by its Armed Forces on a vessel in the Caribbean. U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), in a statement released on X, stated that the target was operating on known drug trafficking routes and that "confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking."

Accompanying the message were black-and-white images: a moving vessel and, later, an explosion. The footage does not identify the victims or clarify whether there was an attempt at interception, warning shots, or an arrest.

The strike is part of the operation that the Trump administration launched in September 2025 under the name Southern Shield. The president has described the operation as a war against Latin American cartels.

According to an AFP tally, the attacks in the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean have already claimed more than 200 lives.