The U.S. struck another alleged drug vessel Tuesday night, this time on the Pacific side of South America, according to two U.S. officials.
In what is the eighth known U.S. attack on a boat since Sept. 2, two to three individuals aboard the vessel were killed. The other seven strikes targeted vessels in the Caribbean.
At least 34 people have been killed in U.S. strikes on alleged drug boats. The Trump administration has told Congress the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, arguing that the narcotics they smuggle kill tens of thousands of Americans every year, and this constitutes an “armed attack.”
Two men survived a U.S. strike on a suspected drug-trafficking submersible vessel in the Caribbean last week, and the U.S. repatriated the men, one from Ecuador and one from Colombia. Ecuador released the man, identified as Andrés Fernando Tufiño, after authorities said they had found no evidence that he had committed a crime.
The Colombian citizen remains hospitalized after his repatriation. Interior Minister Armando Benedetti said he “arrived with brain trauma, sedated, drugged, breathing with a ventilator.” Authorities there said he would face prosecution. Two other men were killed in the strike on the submersible vessel.
This is a developing story and will be updated.