Muhammad Asim Saddiqi 
The US military has killed three suspected drug traffickers aboard a boat during an operation in the eastern Pacific. According to an official statement from US Southern Command, the operation authorized by the US Secretary of Defense targeted a vessel involved in drug trafficking.
In a post on the social media platform X, the military command stated that US intelligence had confirmed the boat’s involvement in illegal drug trafficking and that it was carrying narcotics. The three individuals killed in the strike were described as male traffickers.
This naval operation marks the latest escalation in US military actions under the Trump administration’s counter-narcotics campaign. The policy was introduced early in the administration when President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating powerful cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, thereby granting broader military and intelligence powers to act against them.
The crackdown on suspected drug-trafficking vessels began in the Caribbean Sea in September and expanded to the eastern Pacific by the end of October. Official figures indicate a rapid pace of operations, with at least 21 separate attacks since the campaign began, resulting in a total of 82 deaths.
The latest incident underscores the continued use of military force in what Washington describes as a war on drug terrorism.
