US strike on suspected drug boat kills three in Caribbean

The United States carried out another strike against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Caribbean, killing three people, the military announced on February 23.

The operation is part of an ongoing campaign that has seen more than 40 similar strikes conducted across the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific since September. According to the Defence Department statement, at least 137 people have been killed in those operations.

In a statement posted on its official website, U.S. Southern Command said the targeted boat was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The command added that no U.S. personnel were injured during the strike. However, officials did not present evidence demonstrating that the vessel or those aboard were involved in drug trafficking.

U.S. Southern Command said the strike was ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan, a Marine Corps general who leads the command. Donovan visited Caracas, Venezuela, last week, where he met with U.S. service members and interagency partners, according to an earlier statement from the command.

Venezuelan state television channel VTV reported that during the visit, Donovan also held talks with acting President Delcy Rodríguez and several senior Venezuelan officials, including Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.

Both Padrino and Cabello have previously been indicted by the U.S. Justice Department on drug-trafficking charges. Venezuela’s armed forces have rejected those accusations, along with indictments unsealed in 2020 against other military and political leaders.

Donovan’s trip marked the first visit by a U.S. military delegation since U.S. forces captured then-President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. The visit added to a series of trips by senior U.S. officials as the administration of President Donald Trump seeks to consolidate influence over Venezuela’s new government headed by Rodríguez.

Despite the political transition, Rodríguez has continued to insist that Maduro remains Venezuela’s legitimate leader.

Monday’s strike came just three days after a separate U.S. operation in the eastern Pacific that also resulted in three deaths. The broader campaign has drawn criticism from members of Congress — primarily Democrats — as well as from advocacy organisations, which question the legal basis for the attacks. President Donald Trump has repeatedly defended the operations, arguing that they are necessary to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United States.

By Tamilla Hasanova