US Military Strike Kills Two on Alleged Drug Boat in Eastern Pacific

The U.S. military struck an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Friday, killing two men and leaving one survivor.

Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a black boat-shaped image before an explosion and a column of fire rising from the ocean.

Southern Command said it "immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor." It provided no details on the rescue or the survivor's condition.

The White House announced Wednesday that President Trump had signed a new U.S. counterterrorism strategy making the elimination of drug cartels in the Western Hemisphere the administration's highest priority.

The Trump administration's campaign of striking alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, began in early September. The strikes have killed at least 192 people. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels carried drugs. The attacks have increased in recent weeks.

President Trump has pressed regional leaders to cooperate more closely with the U.S. against cartels and to take military action themselves against drug traffickers and transnational gangs. He called them an "unacceptable threat" to the hemisphere's national security.

Critics have questioned the legality of the boat strikes.

The first attack took place on Sept. 2. In early December, the Trump administration faced heavy scrutiny after confirming a Washington Post report. That report said the Sept. 2 strike included a follow-on attack, or "double tap," that killed two survivors of the initial strike.

Some lawmakers questioned whether the follow-on strike amounted to a war crime.