US military strike on 20 February 2026 killed three on a suspected drug boat in the eastern Pacific.
The attack brings the total deaths from at least 43 similar strikes since early September to 148.
Critics challenge the legality and effectiveness of the operations amid limited evidence of targeting “narcoterrorists”.
The US military carried out a lethal strike on Friday (20 February 2026) against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three people and bringing the death toll from such operations to at least 148.
According to AP, the US Southern Command stated on social media that the boat “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” A video associated with the post depicts the vessel afloat before it erupts in flames.
AP reported that this incident marks the latest in a series of at least 43 strikes conducted by the Trump administration since early September across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The attacks have resulted in at least 148 deaths overall.
President Donald Trump has described the US as being in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has defended the strikes as an essential escalation to disrupt drug flows into the country. However, the administration has provided limited evidence to substantiate claims that those killed were “narcoterrorists.”
The strikes have faced particular scrutiny after reports emerged that the military carried out a follow-up attack on survivors of the initial boat incident. The Trump administration and several Republican lawmakers have maintained that the actions were lawful and required, while Democratic lawmakers and legal experts have described the killings of survivors as murder, and in some cases, a potential war crime.
(With input from AP)
