WASHINGTON: The US military says it killed two people in a strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, bringing the death toll from the contentious campaign to at least 187.

US Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington’s forces in the region, said in a post on X that “the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations” when the strike was carried out on Monday.

President Donald Trump’s administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls “narco-terrorists” operating in Latin America.

The US Southern Command said that no US military forces were harmed. It described those killed as “male narco-terrorists”. This is the latest such attack condemned by rights groups as “extrajudicial killings”.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2026