The US Armed Forces announced this Tuesday that they have destroyed another three alleged drug boats in the Pacific and the Caribbean, an operation that has caused 11 deaths. According to a statement, the vessels “were traveling along known drug trafficking routes and participating in drug trafficking operations.” “At the last hour of February 16, under the direction of the commander of the Southern Command, General Francis L. Donovan, the joint force Southern Spear carried out three lethal kinetic strikes against three vessels operated by designated terrorist organizations,” the Southern Command reported. The attacks have occurred within the framework of ‘Southern Spear’ operation, which Washington has been implementing since September in the area of responsibility of the Southern Command. This was activated with the primary objective of increasing tension around the former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro, captured on January 3rd. We recommend reading: “Eleven male narcoterrorists died during these actions: four in the first vessel in the eastern Pacific, four in the second vessel in the eastern Pacific, and three in the third vessel in the Caribbean”, concludes the statement.
These operations come after another attack by the US Armed Forces destroyed a boat on Friday that was allegedly engaged in drug trafficking and caused the death of its three crew members. Since September, these summary attacks against alleged drug traffickers already exceed forty and have left around 150 dead.
Faced with criticism from those who believe that Washington is not granting these alleged drug traffickers due process, the Government of President Donald Trump has argued that their actions are justified because the Administration has declared war on several cartels and organizations linked to drug trafficking in Latin America.
