Amid the longest pause to date in the US military’s deadly military strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, US law enforcement officials told CNN they are uncertain about the strikes’ lasting impact after 11 months, and experts are skeptical they will meaningfully change the region’s drug trade.
The official mission for Operation Southern Spear, as the boat strike initiative is known, is classified, according to a May 20 report from the Pentagon’s inspector general office. The US military has destroyed at least 67 vessels and killed at least 221 people in the campaign that began in September 2025.
It’s not clear why the strikes have paused. The last occurred on June 21.
But law enforcement officials and experts who spoke with CNN emphasized the resiliency and adaptability of drug smuggling networks, and they expressed skepticism about the lethal strike strategy and its effectiveness.
US Southern Command, the headquarters overseeing Operation Southern Spear, told CNN in a statement that the mission “allows SOUTHCOM to take the fight to the cartels,” many of which have been labeled as terrorist organizations, “before their violence and poison reaches our shores.”
