US military's drug boat strikes have now killed at least 240 people since September 2025

Using the military for law enforcement operations is often controversial!

How much effort is being made to try to capture/arrest these alleged drug smugglers before killing them?

Why are drug smugglers still using this dangerous route?

"The U.S. military killed five people Tuesday aboard what Southern Command described as a “go-fast vessel” associated with “narco-terrorists” in the eastern Pacific Ocean, bringing the death toll from its campaign against suspected drug traffickers to at least 240 since September 2025. ...

Over the previous months, these strikes have gained mounting legal scrutiny, domestically and internationally. In September, the United Nations found reasonable grounds to believe the killings constituted murder under international law and warned that the broader campaign could amount to crimes against humanity. ...

The families of two men killed in an October 2025 strike have also sued the U.S. government, alleging wrongful death and extrajudicial killing. The lawsuit, filed with assistance from the American Civil Liberties Union and Center for Constitutional Rights, concerns Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41, both from Trinidad and Tobago. ..."

US military's drug boat strikes have now killed at least 240 people "The attack was at least the third deadly strike carried out by U.S. Southern Command this month."

Credits: Defense News