Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal strike on Feb. 23 against a vessel in the Caribbean, reporting three dead and no U.S. casualties.
- The military released a short video of the strike and said intelligence indicated the boat was on known narcotics routes and operated by designated terrorist organizations.
- The operation was the second strike in three days and the seventh this year, following a Feb. 21 attack in the eastern Pacific that also killed three and a multi-boat action last week that left 11 dead.
- Press tallies put the campaign’s death toll at about 151 since September 2025, with roughly 44 small vessels destroyed across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
- Lawmakers and rights groups question the legality and transparency of the killings, noting officials do not always know who is aboard, while the Trump administration maintains the strikes are necessary to deter maritime trafficking.