MEXICO CITY (AP) — The United States military strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats transiting in Latin America have killed more than 200 people since September, when the Trump administration began an operation it has justified as necessary to stem the flow of drugs. As the strikes continue, the administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narco-terrorists” against whom U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in an “armed conflict.” Critics have questioned the overall legality of the strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind thousands of fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the U.S. overland from Mexico. The fast boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific are known to carry cocaine, not fentanyl.Here’s what to know about the deadly strikes.
Why did the military begin blowing up fast boats?Trump has asserted that the longtime U.S. strategy of interdicting the boats at sea for decades has not worked. Yet, the U.S. Coast Guard set a record in 2024, the final year of former U.S. President Joe Biden’s term, for cocaine seizures, hauling 225 metric tons of the drug.The strikes began in September off Venezuela’s Caribbean coast and expanded to the Eastern Pacific in October. The deadliest month since the start of the operation was October, with 45 people killed. Most of this year’s strikes have been in the Pacific. Trump and other senior officials have also contended that such boats are being operated by narco-terrorists and cartel members.
