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 disclose the exact location of the strikes; however, US forces have been targeting vessels suspected of smuggling narcotics through the Caribbean and eastern Pacific for the past three months.
This recent strike follows another operation on Tuesday, which targeted a convoy of three boats and resulted in at least three deaths.
The Trump administration has framed these military actions as part of a non-international armed conflict against alleged traffickers, but legal experts have raised questions regarding potential violations of international law.
In total, US military operations have conducted over 30 strikes, killing more than 110 individuals since the initial attack on September 2. The first strike, particularly, faced scrutiny after it was revealed that US forces executed a second strike on the same boat, resulting in the deaths of survivors clinging to the vessel.
Concerns have also been expressed by lawmakers regarding the 'double-tap' strategy employed in these strikes, which could breach established rules of engagement.
In its latest announcement, US Southern Command confirmed the collateral damage and mentioned efforts to locate survivors of the convoy strike on December 30, but did not specify numbers. It claimed survivors had abandoned their vessels before follow-up strikes sank them, purporting to notify the US Coast Guard to assist in the search for the missing.
Despite the military's assertions, no concrete evidence has been presented linking the targeted boats to drug trafficking, with claims of active monitoring by intelligence suggesting they were transiting known narco-trafficking routes.
