US military strikes 2 'drug boats', kill 5 'narco-terrorists': Southcom

Amid the brewing tensions in the Caribbean, the US military blew up two vessels, which they alleged were drug trafficking boats. The US Southern Command (Southcom) confirmed that the strikes were conducted on Wednesday and the forces killed “narco-terrorists” in the attack.

The strike was in line with the US President Donald Trump’s administration’s counternarcotics campaign in the Western Hemisphere. The forces noted that two boats were operated by a designated terrorist organisation. While three people were killed in the first boat, two were killed in the second one.

“On Dec. 31, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear, conducted a lethal kinetic strike on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations,” US Southcom said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and engaged in narco-trafficking. A total of five narco-terrorists were killed during these actions - three in the first vessel and two in the second,” the statement further reads.

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On Dec. 31, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and… pic.twitter.com/4AE5u4cEff

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) January 1, 2026

It is unclear which terrorist group was targeted

It is yet to be determined if the strikes took place in the Caribbean or the eastern Pacific, where all of the administration’s lethal attacks on alleged drug boats have happened since the campaign began in early September. It is also unclear which terrorist group the US military targeted and which drugs the boats were carrying.

On Wednesday, Southcom told The Hill that “due to operational security reasons, we will not comment on the location” of the mission. Since September 2, the US military has conducted a minimum of 35 strikes against purported drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. As of now, the American forces have killed at least 115 people in what the officials call an effort to reduce the flow of illegal drugs in the region and defend the US.

The Wednesday attack came just a day after the US military targeted a convoy of alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Southcom area of responsibility. Three “narco-terrorists” were killed in the first vessel, while the people on the second and third boats jumped into the water before an additional US strike sank their respective vessels.

Southcom soon mentioned that the US Coast Guard activated its search and rescue system. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard is yet to give an update on the matter. It is still unclear exactly where the Tuesday operation took place. Southcom previously told The Hill that “due to operational security reasons, we will not comment on the location.” They noted that there were reportedly eight survivors who abandoned the boats.

In the midst of this, Trump has been increasing pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, andthe  CIA has conducted a drone strike against a dock facility, believed to contain narcotics, on Venezuela’s shore. Hence, the tensions between the US and Venezuela continue to escalate.