US says strike on another alleged drug boat in Pacific kills 4

The US military on Wednesday struck another boat in the eastern Pacific it claimed was trafficking drugs, killing four people, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 62.

The strike occurred in international waters, Hegseth announced on X, and a video accompanying his post showed a boat floating stationary in the water before a large explosion and subsequent fire.

Like previous videos released by the US government, areas on the boat are obfuscated, rendering it impossible to verify how many people were on board.

“This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said.

Experts say the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers, and Washington has yet to make public any evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.