Military cites intelligence but provides no evidence of drug transport

Watchdog review will not assess legality; Rubio prefers working with allies

U.S. Southern Command said, “intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narcotrafficking.” The U.S. military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. The Pentagon’s watchdog has said it will examine whether the military followed an established targeting framework, though the evaluation will not probe the legality of the strikes. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States could act unilaterally but preferred working with allies, describing the approach as “a strike-by-strike or operation-by-operation determination.”

Tuesday’s strike was among a few attacks that followed Rubio’s September pledge to seek approval from U.S. allies in the region for carrying out such attacks. Rubio told reporters that while the United States has “the capacity to act unilaterally,” it would rather work with allies because that is “the most effective way to do it.”

The U.S. military said Tuesday’s attack on a boat it accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific killed five people. The attack brought the reported death toll from U.S. military boat strikes to at least 240 across more than 70 strikes. The Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in September 2025 as part of its campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

Southern Command used a formulation typical of most military statements about strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea: the command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. A video posted on X showed a small boat in the water before it was enveloped by an explosion.

President Donald Trump has said the United States is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has sought to justify the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives. The Associated Press reported that the administration had offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”

Critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the boat strikes, in part because fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses typically reaches the United States over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India. The attacks have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars.

The Pentagon’s watchdog said in May that it planned to examine whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the lethal operations. The framework includes a military commander’s intent, target development and execution. The watchdog said the evaluation would not probe the legality of the strikes.

Rubio’s statements in Peru last month appeared to signal a shift in strategy. He also said the U.S. military would “still blow up ships if need be.”