U.S. Southern Command mentioned it focused three vessels touring in a convoy in undisclosed worldwide waters — leaving “narco-terrorists” as survivors after they jumped overboard, based on a social media assertion.
The strikes occurred on Dec. 30, according to the post on X.
“Three narco-terrorists aboard the primary vessel have been killed within the first engagement,” the assertion mentioned. “The remaining narco-terrorists deserted the opposite two vessels, leaping overboard and distancing themselves earlier than follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”
U.S. Southern Command mentioned it focused three vessels touring in a convoy in undisclosed worldwide waters.
US Southern Command
No less than six folks survived the Dec. 30 strikes, which passed off within the Japanese Pacific, based on a U.S. official.
The U.S. Coast Guard was notified to start looking for the survivors in a search and rescue operation, the assertion mentioned.
The US Coast Guard confirmed {that a} search-and-rescue operation was underway, and that Coat Guard C-130 plane had been deployed for the operation. The Coast Guard has put out a sign to different mariners for the survivors in misery.
In a press release shared with ABC Information, the Coast Guard mentioned, “on December thirtieth, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified by the Division of Conflict of mariners in misery within the Pacific Ocean.”
“The U.S. Coast Guard is coordinating search and rescue operations with vessels within the space, and a Coast Guard C-130 plane is en route to supply additional search protection,” it mentioned.
A number of hours after asserting the Dec. 30 strikes, Southern Command posted on social media that one other sequence of strikes — carried out on New Yr’s Eve — had focused two extra vessels alleged to be engaged in drug trafficking. The publish didn’t specify the place the strike passed off.
A complete of 5 folks have been killed — three within the first vessel and two within the second, based on the publish.
There have now been no less than 34 strikes — and no less than 115 folks killed — within the U.S. army marketing campaign within the Caribbean and Japanese Pacific focusing on alleged drug traffickers since September.
Within the posts concerning the strikes, the army mentioned the vessels focused have been operated by designated terrorist organizations and that intelligence confirmed the vessel have been “have been transiting alongside identified narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking.”
The U.S. marketing campaign focusing on alleged boat strikes got here underneath scrutiny final month after the Trump administration acknowledged survivors of an preliminary sequence of strikes on an alleged drug vessel on Sept. 2 have been killed in a follow-up series of strikes.
In one other assault within the Caribbean in October, two survivors of a strike on a submarine suspected of carrying medication have been later returned to the countries of origin — Ecuador and Colombia — to be detained and prosecuted, President Donald Trump mentioned.
On October 27, a mariner, now presumed useless, additionally survived U.S. strikes.
