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Video U.S. Strikes Three Boats in One of Deadliest Days of Drug Campaign

strike on alleged drug running boat
SOUTHCOM released video of three more boats being struck (SOUTHCOM)

Published Feb 17, 2026 4:18 PM by The Maritime Executive


In what is one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration’s campaign against drug runners, SOUTHCOM is reporting three strikes in one day, the first time the U.S. has targeted boats on both the Atlantic and Pacific on the same day. Observers also note that the pace of the strikes is accelerating.

Few details were provided with the posting of a new video on social media. The strikes reportedly took place late on February 16, and the announcement repeated the allegation that the boats were operated by designated terrorist organizations. “Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” wrote SOUTHCOM.

The first boat struck on the Pacific was reported to have had four people and was a typical fast-go boat with five outboard motors. However, it was not moving when the strike came. Only the second boat was underway, traveling at a high speed with what appears to be four outboard motors and an open area that appears to have bundles. Four people were also aboard the boat, according to the report, and it was also in the Eastern Pacific.

The third strike was reported in the Caribbean, but it is more difficult to discern because the image is higher and more distant. The boat, however, was clearly drifting and not underway. SOUTHCOM reports three people were aboard.

 

 

With the 11 people killed in these strikes, the media reports are calculating the death toll at 144 or 145 people since the campaign began in September. Two known survivors of the attacks were handed back to their countries. The Associated Press says there have been a total of 42 known strikes. 

The U.S. was also reported to have killed 11 people on December 30 when it struck three boats traveling together on the Pacific. However, in that instance, it was estimated that eight of the people aboard the second and third boats jumped into the ocean after the first boat was hit. None were recovered, despite a search by the Coast Guard, and all were presumed to have died.

The New York Times reports that the strikes are now coming at a pace of every three or four days. It points to the change in command, with SOUTHCOM now led by General Francis L. Donovan after Admiral Alvin Holsey retired. The paper writes that Admiral Holsey “had expressed concerns about the strikes.”

The Trump administration has vowed to keep up the strikes on the boats.