Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said a Thursday strike in the eastern Pacific hit a suspected drug-running boat, killed four men and was documented in video showing a high-speed vessel followed by a large explosion.
- The operation extends a campaign begun in September that has targeted more than 20 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific, with official death counts reported around 87.
- Attention has converged on an early‑September action in which a second salvo struck an already‑disabled boat, with the Washington Post reporting survivors clinging to the burning vessel were killed.
- After a closed‑door briefing with Adm. Frank Bradley, Rep. Jim Himes said Pentagon video showed two distressed mariners being killed, while Sen. Tom Cotton said Bradley denied receiving any unlawful order to ‘kill them all.’
- The White House confirmed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized Bradley to carry out kinetic strikes, as the U.N. rights office and Sen. Mark Kelly called for legal reviews and a congressional inquiry.