The U.S. military carried out strikes on three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing eight people and bringing the total death toll in the campaign to at least 95.
The latest strikes come as Congress intensifies scrutiny of the legal basis for the operation and pressures the Pentagon to release unedited footage of earlier attacks.
U.S. Southern Command said the strikes were conducted on Dec. 15 by Joint Task Force Southern Spear, acting under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. In a statement posted on X, the command said intelligence indicated the vessels were operating along known narcotics routes in international waters and were engaged in drug trafficking. The military described the boats as operated by "designated terrorist organizations."
On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/IQfCVvUpau
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 16, 2025
The campaign, known as Operation Southern Spear, began with the first strike on Sept. 2 and has targeted more than 20 vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean. The Trump administration has told Congress it considers itself to be in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels and has labeled those killed as "unlawful combatants," citing a classified Justice Department finding that it says permits lethal action without judicial review, as CNN explains.
The operation has drawn growing criticism from legal experts and lawmakers, particularly over a follow-up strike on Sept. 2 that killed two survivors of an initial attack, with several experts have said that second strike could constitute an extrajudicial killing under international law.
The White House has rejected that view, saying the strikes comply with the laws of armed conflict and are necessary to protect the United States from narcotics trafficking.
Congress moved last week to increase oversight by using the annual defense policy bill to compel the Pentagon to provide unedited video of strikes conducted by U.S. Southern Command.
Lawmakers included a provision to withhold 25% of Secretary Hegseth's travel budget until the footage is turned over to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. Hegseth has said he is concerned about troop safety but President Donald Trump said he would have "no problem" releasing the video.
The strikes are part of broader U.S. pressure on Venezuela, which the administration accuses of facilitating narcotics trafficking. The United States has deployed thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean and recently seized a sanctioned oil tanker off Venezuela's coast, further escalating tensions in the region.
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