US military strike: Coast Guard searches for survivors after drug vessel attacks

The United States Coast Guard is reportedly searching for survivors of a U.S. military strike against a convoy of drug vessels in the Pacific Ocean according to the officials on Wednesday.

The Trump administration has mainly carried out more than 30 strikes against this illegal activity in the Caribbean and Pacific since September as part of a special campaign that killed at least 110 people.

In this connection, Southern Command wrote on X, “Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement, and the remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels.”

However, a U.S. official speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed concern for the eight individuals who abandoned their vessels and are currently being searched for.

According to Reuters, the Coast Guard confirmed that it had deployed a C-130 aircraft to look for survivors and is working closely with other vessels in the area.

This is not the first time survivors have been documented following a U.S. strike under the Trump administration.

Notably, two survivors of a U.S. strike were repatriated to their home countries for detention and prosecution.

In late October, Mexican authorities launched a search and rescue operation after another U.S. strike left a survivor.

The fatal blows against drug vessels are part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration aimed at drug interdiction, even as legal experts raise questions over the legality of the strikes.

Additionally the administration is facing pressure to prove that that these strikes comply with international laws regarding shipwrecked survivors.