Moment US launches deadly attack on 3 'drug boats' as 11 people killed

Eleven people were killed in multiple strikes on three alleged drug-trafficking boats (Image: US SOUTHERN COMMAND)

The US military said to have launched strikes on three alleged drug boats on Monday, February 16, killing 11 people in the operation. A message released by the US Southern Command on Tuesday claims 11 "male narco-terrorists" were killed. US military officials said four died on one vessel located in the Eastern Pacific, four on a second vessel also in the Eastern Pacific and three aboard of a third vessel in the Caribbean.

The US Southern Command said in a social media post: "Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations." The operation was carried out by the Joint Task Force Southern Spear under the direction of commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

A total of 42 strikes have been carried out by the Trump administration on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September, when the US President called on his country's military to attack "narco-terrorists" on small vessels.

Last week, the US Southern Command carried out two other strikes on boats they claimed were carrying people suspected of drug trafficking.

A clip shared by the US military showed the three boats targeted (Image: US Southern Command)

However, the pace of strikes appears to have declined since early January, when US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an operation launched on Caracas.

The Trump administration has accused Mr Maduro of cooperating with drug‑trafficking networks, an allegation he has denied, and he has been charged at a Manhattan court with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.