US military says its strike on vessel in Eastern Pacific kills 2, leaves 1 survivor

WASHINGTON: The U.S. military said on Friday it struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people and leaving one survivor.

It marked the latest such attack that rights groups label as “extrajudicial killings” and which Washington describes as targeting “narco-terrorists.”

The U.S. Southern Command said on X that two males were killed in the strike while one person survived.

The U.S. Coast Guard was notified for search and rescue operations, the Southern Command said.

A U.S. official cited by the New York Times said the Mexican Navy was in charge of the search for the survivor.

There have rarely been survivors of the U.S. strikes.

U.S. forces have attacked multiple boats in the Eastern Pacific in recent weeks through deadly strikes.

US military says strike on vessel in Eastern Pacific kills three

The U.S. military’s strikes on such vessels have killed more than 190 people since September.

President Donald Trump’s administration says the vessels were transporting narcotics.

The Southern Command said on Friday the targeted vessel was operated by “Designated Terrorists Organizations” and was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes.”

It did not identify the organizations or the individuals and did not provide details on its claims.

Experts and human rights advocates, both in the U.S. and globally, have questioned the legality of the strikes.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International call the strikes “unlawful extrajudicial killings.”

The American Civil Liberties Union casts the assertions by the Trump administration against those it targets as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims.”