World

US Airstrike on Suspected Drug Vessel in Eastern Pacific Kills Five

By Guardian staff reporter

The U.S. military reported on Tuesday that an airstrike on a suspected drug‑trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific killed five people. The strike is one of more than 70 such attacks carried out since the start of Donald Trump’s second term, according to media tallies. In total, the attacks have killed more than 240 people. The Trump administration maintains that the people and boats were involved in drug trafficking and has described the U.S. as being in armed conflict with Latin American cartels, justifying the strikes as necessary to curb drug flow into the United States. However, the administration has not provided definitive evidence to support its claims of drug trafficking, sparking debate about the legality of the strikes. Legal experts and rights groups argue that the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings, as they appear to target civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. Reuters, the Associated Press and Agence France‑Presse contributed reporting.