The U.S. Army Southern Command announced Monday that it would carry out airstrikes on two people suspected of being involved in drug smuggling on a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The attack is the latest in a series of operations described by legal experts as extrajudicial killings carried out by the Pentagon, the command in charge of military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean said in a statement. The statement said the attack was carried out under the direct command of Florida Combat Command’s new commander, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, who was sworn in during a ceremony at the Pentagon last week.
Mr. Donovan replaced Admiral Alvin Halsey, the former commander of the U.S. Navy, who chose to retire due to bitter disagreements over the Navy’s offensive policy.
The Pentagon said an announcement of the operation was released along with a video clip of the attack, explaining that the targeted ships were crossing known drug smuggling routes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. He added that the US Coast Guard had been called in to search for possible survivors of the attack.
The operation killed at least 130 people, according to Defense Department data, among 38 airstrikes carried out as part of Washington’s efforts to combat smuggling and organized crime.
The raid coincided with a notable escalation by the United States as U.S. forces, which had been tracking it since it set sail in the Caribbean, finally boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean as part of measures to impose a strict oil blockade on Venezuela, according to a statement from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“The only instruction I have given to our military commanders is that no one should flee,” Hegseth told Maine shipyard workers, confirming his country’s intention to seize all ships subject to sanctions.
The US Army Southern Command on Monday announced an airstrike that killed two people suspected of being involved in drug trafficking on a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
The attack is the latest in a series of operations described by legal experts as extrajudicial killings carried out by the Pentagon, the command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, said in a statement. The statement said the airstrikes were carried out under the direct orders of Florida’s new combatant command commander, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, who was sworn in at a ceremony at the Pentagon last week.
Mr. Donovan replaced Admiral Alvin Halsey, the former commander of the U.S. Navy, who chose to retire amid bitter disagreements over maritime strike policy.
The Pentagon noted that the announcement of the operation was accompanied by a video clip of the attack, which described the targeted ships as traveling along known drug trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. It added that the US Coast Guard was called in to search for possible survivors of the attack.
The operation added to the death toll, with at least 130 people killed in 38 airstrikes carried out as part of Washington’s efforts to combat smuggling and organized crime, according to Pentagon data.
The airstrikes coincided with a notable escalation by the United States, which recently tracked and boarded a sanctioned oil tanker in the Indian Ocean since departing from the Caribbean as part of a tightened oil blockade against Venezuela, according to a statement from U.S. Army Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Addressing shipyard workers in Maine, Hegseth affirmed the country’s determination to seize all sanctioned ships, saying, “The only instruction I have given to our military leaders is that no one should escape.”
