U.S. military strike against suspected drug vessel kills two, leaves one survivor

The U.S. military struck its 39th suspected drug-smuggling vessel on Monday, killing two people and leaving one survivor.

U.S. Southern Command said it conducted a lethal kinetic strike on the boat, citing intelligence that confirmed the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.

The hit killed two people and left one survivor, who is now the focus of a search-and-rescue effort after the Southern Command said it immediately notified the Coast Guard.

More than 100 people have been killed since strikes began in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in September. The U.S. took an intermittent pause following the capture of then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3 before renewing the boat strikes in late January.

Mr. Maduro has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, which include narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

Monday’s boat strike is the third known strike since his capture.

The Trump administration has maintained that the strikes are necessary to combat narcotics trafficking and stop the flow of illicit drugs into the U.S. The administration has told Congress that the U.S. is involved in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug-smuggling cartels.

But the survivors of such operations have caught the public’s attention.

Two people survived an attack during the first military operation on Sept. 2 but were killed in a follow-on strike. Some public officials decried the second attack, accusing the U.S. of committing a war crime.

In at least five instances, people have survived the operations, prompting search-and-rescue efforts in most cases.