US military destroys five drug cartel vessels in two days
The US military destroyed five vessels used to transport drugs in Central and South America and the Caribbean region within two days. This was reported by the US Southern Command, citing the results of the operation to counter drug trafficking
According to the command, on 30 and 31 December, Combined Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted strikes in international waters against vessels travelling along known drug trafficking routes and involved in the illegal drug trade. Intelligence confirmed their links to transnational drug trafficking groups
During two separate episodes, five vessels were destroyed and eight members of drug cartels were eliminated. Five people were killed on two boats and three others were killed in an attack on a three-ship convoy. Some of the participants tried to escape by jumping overboard, after which the US notified the Coast Guard to conduct search and rescue operations
The Pentagon did not specify the exact location of the strikes, noting that counter-narcotics operations are ongoing in both the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific
