US military says killed four in Caribbean boat strike
WASHINGTON: The US military announced Saturday that it had killed four people on a boat it said was involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean.
"Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking.
"The operation killed four narco-terrorists," SOUTHCOM, which commands US forces in the region, said in a statement, along with a grainy video of the attack on the boat.
The US military launched operation "Southern Spear" in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.
Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific Ocean, according to a tally by AFP.
Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.
Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.
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