War on Drugs

Another Drug Boat Bombing

Plus: The U.S. blockade widens, Los Angeles teachers get a pay bump, the sunny side of a treeless national mall, and more...

Christian Britschgi | 4.16.2026 9:38 AM

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(Pentagon)

More alleged drug boat slayings. The U.S. military announced last night that it had bombed another boat it claims was smuggling drugs into the country.

U.S. Southern Command claimed on social media to have killed three male "narco-terrorists" in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The post includes a video of the "kinetic" strike turning the bombed boat into a fireball.

On April 15, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/EaGDMHmpan

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) April 16, 2026

The New York Times reports that this is the 51st time the Trump administration has used the military to bomb suspected drug boats. The attacks have killed a total of 177 people.

Though it shouldn't be, trafficking drugs is a crime. Criminals are normally arrested by the police, instead of being killed by the military. Trump's use of the military to kill suspected drug smugglers in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean has been legally controversial since the strikes began in September of last year.

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The administration has adopted the seemingly contradictory position that it can summarily execute alleged narco-traffickers because they are terrorists engaged in "armed conflict" with the U.S.,........

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