Eight killed in U.S. military counter-narcotics strikes

By Elyse Apel
The Center Square

The U.S. military conducted five more strikes on drug boats in the Caribbean in the last days of 2025.

This is according to the U.S. Southern Command, which posted videos of the strikes on social media.

In total, eight people were killed in the strikes. Others jumped overboard. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth approved all of the strikes before they were initiated.

Three vessels were targeted on Dec. 30 and two more on Dec. 31.

“​​These vessels were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” the U.S. Southern Command said in a statement. “Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes.”

The U.S. Coast Guard was deployed following the strikes, labeled “lethal kinetic strikes,” to search for survivors.

This is just the latest series of strikes that are a part of President Donald Trump’s Joint Task Force Southern Spear. Last week, the U.S. conducted its first strike on a suspected drug loading site in Venezuela, which marked the first known land strike the U.S. has made against Venezuela since the Trump administration began ramping up counter-narcotics operations in the Caribbean, with some activity also taking place in the eastern Pacific.

Hegseth called 2025 a historic year for U.S. military operations, promising “more coming” in 2026.