Dallas County readers learn U.S. Navy killed five in Pacific boat strike

At least 240 people have died in more than 70 U.S. military strikes against boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, according to figures released Tuesday. The latest incident, which killed five individuals, occurred on Tuesday in the eastern Pacific. This is the most recent addition to a tally that has grown since the Trump administration began targeting what it calls narcoterrorists in September 2025.

U.S. Southern Command stated that intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narcotrafficking. The military targeted the boat along known smuggling routes. However, the command did not provide physical evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs at the time of the strike. A video posted on social media showed the small boat sitting in the water before an explosion destroyed it. The vessel appeared stationary prior to the impact.

President Trump has described the U.S. as being in armed conflict with cartels in Latin America. He has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States and reduce fatal overdoses. Critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the strikes. They note that much of the fentanyl causing overdoses is trafficked over land from Mexico, using chemicals imported from China and India.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke to reporters in Peru last month about the strategy. He said the U.S. has the capacity to act unilaterally but prefers to work with allies because that is the most effective way to do it. Rubio signaled a potential shift in approach but stated the military would still blow up ships if needed. He described the decision-making process as a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation determination.

The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it plans to investigate whether the military followed an established targeting framework. This framework includes a commander’s intent, target development, and execution. The evaluation will not probe the legality of the strikes. This review comes as some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars scrutinize the operations.

In August, the U.S. military killed two people on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Pacific Ocean. In June, a strike in the Caribbean killed two people on a boat accused of smuggling drugs. Lawmakers have demanded the release of unedited video from the first strike in September 2025. Reports indicated the U.S. conducted a follow-on strike on survivors of the initial attack. Two people who survived the first hit were attempting to climb back onto the boat before it was struck a second time, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Some lawmakers have questioned whether that follow-on strike constituted a war crime. The Defense Department and several congressional Republicans have insisted the survivors may have still been engaged in combat. This warranted the second attack. In the first strike of the campaign in September 2025, the U.S. used an aircraft painted like a civilian plane to attack a boat from Venezuela, multiple officials confirmed.