The assault is the newest in a string of killings by the US that rights teams say are ‘illegal’.
Printed On 16 Apr 2026
America navy says it has attacked a brand new vessel within the Jap Pacific, killing three folks it accuses of “narco-trafficking”.
The assault introduced on Wednesday is the newest in dozens of such strikes carried out by the US navy in latest months, a sample rights teams have slammed as “extrajudicial killings”.
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US Southern Command mentioned the newest vessel focused was operated by unnamed “Designated Terrorist Organizations” who had been “transiting alongside identified narco-trafficking routes” within the area.
It shared a video of an air strike showing to tear into the vessel, which burst into flames.
The US navy mentioned none of its forces was harmed within the operation.
The assault comes a day after the US navy mentioned one other of its strikes within the jap Pacific killed four people, whereas a separate strike on Monday within the area had killed two.
In whole, US assaults on vessels accused of narco-trafficking have killed not less than 178 folks since September, when US President Donald Trump ordered the assaults to cease what the White Home claims are Latin American cartels transporting medication to the US.
‘US can’t summarily kill folks’
Specialists and human rights advocates, each within the US and globally, have questioned the legality of the strikes, a few of which they are saying have focused civilian fishing boats.
Human Rights Watch has mentioned the strikes quantity to “illegal extrajudicial killings”, whereas the American Civil Liberties Union has forged the assertions by the Trump administration towards these it targets as “unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims”.
Authorized consultants have mentioned that if some vessels had been concerned in drug trafficking, these on board ought to face the legislation, reasonably than lethal assaults.
“US officers can’t summarily kill folks they accuse of smuggling medication,” mentioned Sarah Yager, Washington director at Human Rights Watch.
“The issue of narcotics getting into the US just isn’t an armed battle, and US officers can’t circumvent their human rights obligations by pretending in any other case.”
Critics have additionally questioned the effectiveness of the US navy operation partially as a result of the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses within the US, which Trump has used to justify his marketing campaign, is often trafficked to the US over land from Mexico, the place it’s produced with chemical substances imported from China and India.
