US Southern Command announced that 4 people were killed in a strike carried out by the Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force on Saturday 19 September 2026 against a speedboat in the Caribbean, claiming it was involved in drug trafficking.
Southern Command describes the boat and the strike's targets
The command said the boat was travelling along known drug-trafficking routes in the region and that what it described as confirmed intelligence showed it was actively involved in trafficking operations. It described the 4 people killed in the operation as “narco-terrorists”. The Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force carried out the strike under the direction of Southern Command, which said the operation was a “lethal kinetic strike”.
A recording released by the command on the X platform showed a boat moving through the water before a flash appeared at its location. The Associated Press said the US military had not publicly provided evidence that the boat was carrying drugs. It reported that the strike brought the death toll in the US campaign against boats Washington suspects of being used for trafficking to at least 231 people since operations began nearly a year ago.
US campaign raises death toll
The strike came 10 days after another operation in the Caribbean, which Southern Command said on 9 September had killed 3 people. The campaign targets boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, while the administration of President Donald Trump describes the people aboard them as “narco-terrorists”.
Trump said the United States was engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug-trafficking groups in Latin America, and justified the use of military force as a necessary escalation to curb the flow of drugs into his country and reduce overdose deaths. Human Rights Watch, meanwhile, said the strikes amounted to extrajudicial killings, arguing that the United States was not engaged in an armed conflict with a state or non-state actor in the Caribbean or Pacific.
It added that international human rights law permits the intentional use of lethal force only when absolutely necessary to protect lives. The organisation said US authorities had not released information showing that those targeted in the strikes posed an imminent threat to the lives of others.
It called for the campaign to be halted, investigations to be conducted and those responsible to be held accountable, as well as ensuring that victims’ families have access to justice and compensation.
