The Associated Press reported on the 21st that U.S. forces attacked a vessel believed to be a drug cartel off the Pacific coast near Costa Rica, killing at least two people and seriously injuring one. T
he U.S. Southern Command announced via social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that it had “launched a lethal physical attack” on a vessel, stating that it had “confirmed the vessel was involved in drug transport operations while passing through known drug trafficking routes in the Pacific.”
The command also released video footage showing the ship engulfed in flames and exploding. The Costa Rican National Coast Guard dispatched a rescue vessel to an area 126 nautical miles off the Pacific coast of Golfito after receiving information about the sinking of the ship.
While two bodies were recovered and one seriously injured person was found at the scene, the number of people on board at the time of the attack has not yet been confirmed. The Trump administration, having launched a war on drugs, has been intensively attacking vessels suspected of transporting drugs since last September.
The U.S. military has reportedly attacked drug carriers more than 40 times so far, resulting in the deaths of 159 people believed to be couriers. In contrast, it is reported that no casualties have been reported so far on the part of the U.S. military, which employs long-range precision strike methods.