WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. military has conducted another strike against a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, immediately killing two people and leaving six survivors amid an ongoing campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The latest attack \u2014 which now number more than 60 \u2014 brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the U.S. military to more than 210 since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls \u201cnarcoterrorists\u201d in early September.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is unclear if the survivors of this strike, or the one conducted Tuesday, which left two survivors, were rescued. However, in both cases, U.S. Central Command said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard. The Pentagon did not immediately answer questions about the outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As with most of the military\u2019s statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A black-and-white video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before being struck by a visible projectile and then bursting into flames.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in \u201carmed conflict\u201d with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing \u201cnarcoterrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Critics of the strikes have questioned the overall legality as well as their effectiveness. Part of the argument has been that the fentanyl behind many fatal U.S. drug overdoses is typically trafficked over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, U.S. lawmakers demanded that the Pentagon release \u201cunedited video\u201d of the very first strike that the military conducted after reports emerged that the U.S. chose to conduct a follow-up strike on survivors of its initial attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Two men on the boat initially survived the attack that killed nine others, and they were clinging to the wreckage when the vessel was struck again, killing them. The White House confirmed the follow-up strike, insisting it was done \u201cin self-defense\u201d to ensure the boat was destroyed and in accordance with the laws of armed conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But some legal scholars said a second strike killing survivors would have been illegal under any circumstance, armed conflict or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Pentagon\u2019s watchdog said in May that it planned to look into whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the strikes. However, the evaluation is focused specifically on what\u2019s known as the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle and not on the legality of the strikes, the inspector general\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n