US Carries Out Another Deadly Strike on Alleged Drug Trafficking Boat

The attack in the Eastern Pacific raises the death toll from the Trump administration's strikes to 128 people.

Published on Feb. 6, 2026

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The U.S. military has conducted another deadly strike on a vessel accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The attack killed two people and was the latest in a series of strikes that have killed a total of 128 people since September 2025. The strikes have faced criticism, with the families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in an October 2025 strike suing the federal government and calling the attack a war crime.

Why it matters

The U.S. military's campaign of strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean has raised concerns about the legal justification and potential human rights violations of these attacks, which some experts say are a violation of the laws of armed conflict.

The details

According to U.S. Southern Command, the boat 'was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.' A video linked to the post shows the boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The strike comes just hours after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed that some top cartel drug-traffickers have decided to cease all narcotics operations indefinitely due to the recent strikes, though he provided no evidence to support this claim.

  • The latest strike occurred on February 6, 2026.
  • The strikes began in September 2025 and have slowed in frequency since January 2026, with only one strike that month after the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
  • In December 2025, the Pentagon struck more than a dozen boats.

The players

U.S. Southern Command

The U.S. military's regional command responsible for operations in Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the surrounding waters.

Pete Hegseth

The U.S. Defense Secretary who claimed that some top cartel drug-traffickers have decided to cease all narcotics operations indefinitely due to the recent strikes, though he provided no evidence to support this claim.

Donald Trump

The former U.S. President who justified the strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs, though his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing 'narcoterrorists.'

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What they’re saying

“The boat 'was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.'”

— U.S. Southern Command (wsvn.com)

“Some top cartel drug-traffickers 'have decided to cease all narcotics operations INDEFINITELY due to recent (highly effective) kinetic strikes in the Caribbean.'”

— Pete Hegseth, U.S. Defense Secretary (Pete Hegseth's personal social media account)

What’s next

The families of two Trinidadian nationals killed in an October 2025 strike have sued the federal government, calling the attack a war crime and part of an 'unprecedented and manifestly unlawful U.S. military campaign.' This lawsuit will test the legal justification of the attacks.

The takeaway

The U.S. military's campaign of strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean has raised significant concerns about the legal justification and potential human rights violations of these attacks, which some experts say are a violation of the laws of armed conflict.