Five people were killed in an air strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The strike hit a vessel believed to have been used for illegal drug trafficking, the US Armed Forces’ Southern Command said.
The Guardian reports that, according to media tallies, the strike was one of more than 70 similar attacks carried out since the start of Donald Trump’s second presidential term. In total, more than 240 people have been killed as a result of these actions.
The Trump administration claims the people and vessels targeted were involved in drug trafficking. Trump himself has said the United States is in an armed conflict with Latin American cartels, and he justifies such strikes as necessary to cut off the flow of drugs into the United States.
However, the Trump administration has not provided convincing evidence to support its claims of involvement in drug trafficking, prompting debate over the legality of the strikes.
Legal experts and human rights organisations say such actions could amount to extrajudicial killings, as the targets were reportedly civilians who posed no immediate threat to the United States.