The U.S. military announced on the 25th that it had killed four people in an attack on a vessel involved in drug trafficking in the Caribbean. In a statement released on the same day, the U.S. Southern Command stated, “On the 25th, under the direction of Commander Francis Donovan, the Southern Spear Joint Operations Team launched a lethal attack on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO).”
The Southern Command explained that the vessel was moving along a route known as a drug trafficking route in the Caribbean and was identified as conducting a drug trafficking operation. It was further stated, “Four male drug terrorists were killed during this operation, and there were no U.S. casualties.”
Since last September, the U.S. military has conducted more than 40 “Operation Southern Spear” operations in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific to attack Central and South American drug traffickers, with the estimated death toll reaching approximately 160.