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- The US military has killed at least 193 people in strikes on 60 alleged drug-trafficking vessels.
- The Trump administration has declared an “armed conflict” against drug cartels and claims authority to carry out lethal strikes without judicial review.
- Critics question the legality of the strikes and note no public evidence links the boats to narcotics trafficking.
The US military has killed at least 193 people in strikes that have destroyed 60 vessels as part of a campaign that Washington says is aimed at curtailing the flow of drugs into the United States, according to official announcements and CNN’s analysis of search and rescue efforts.
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There have been at least 18 survivors of those strikes, at least two of whom were briefly detained by the US Navy before being returned to their home countries. Some 11 are presumed dead after searches did not locate them in the water.
The most recent strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat occurred on May 26.
The US Coast Guard launched a search for an unspecified number of survivors who abandoned ship before their vessels were struck on December 30 in international waters. The Coast Guard suspended its search on January 2. Officials subsequently said there had been eight survivors they were attempting to locate. The Coast Guard similarly launched searches for survivors of boat strikes on October 27, January 23 and February 9, but all three searches were suspended without locating the men. Following strikes on April 11, the military said it had notified the Coast Guard “to activate the Search and Rescue system” after one person survived the first strike. SOUTHCOM notified the Coast Guard of one survivor following the strike on May 8 and two survivors on May 26.
The Trump administration has told Congress that the US is now in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels beginning with its first strike on September 2, labeling those killed “unlawful combatants” and claiming the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial review due to a classified Justice Department finding.
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Some members of Congress as well as human rights groups have questioned that finding and argued that potential drug traffickers should face prosecution, as had been the policy of interdiction carried out by the US before President Donald Trump took office.
The Trump administration has also not provided public evidence of the presence of narcotics on the boats struck, nor their affiliation with drug cartels.
Military officials have said that no US service members have been harmed in the strikes.
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This story has been updated with additional reporting.