US strikes another boat in eastern Pacific, killing 4
By CNN, December 18, 2025The US military has conducted another strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 4 people, according to US Southern Command.
In a statement posted on X, US Southern Command said the strike was carried out on Tuesday, December 17, 2025, at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“On December 17, at the direction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organisation in international waters,” SOUTHCOM said.
The command added that no US service members were harmed in the operation.
Wednesday’s strike marked the second such incident this week. On Monday, the US military struck three alleged drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific, killing 8 people.
At least 99 people have now been killed in strikes on suspected drug boats under Operation Southern Spear, a campaign the Trump administration says is aimed at curbing narcotics trafficking.
The strikes form part of expanded US military activity in South America, with a particular focus on Venezuela. President Donald Trump has accused Venezuela of stealing US “oil, land and other assets”.
The administration has deployed thousands of troops and a carrier strike group to the Caribbean, and on Tuesday ordered what Trump described as a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro responded earlier on Wednesday, accusing the United States of pursuing regime change and seeking control over Venezuela’s territory and resources.
“It is simply a warmongering and colonialist pretence. We have said this many times, and now everyone can see the truth. The truth has been revealed,” Maduro said in Caracas.
Meanwhile, members of the US Congress continue to pressure the Trump administration to provide more details about the campaign targeting alleged drug boats.
Lawmakers have raised particular concerns about a follow-up strike on September 2 that killed 2 crew members who survived an initial attack on a suspected drug vessel. After briefing lawmakers on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon would not release the full, unedited video of that strike to the public.
He said the House and Senate Armed Services Committees and other relevant committees would be allowed to view the footage, but not the general public.
Senate Democrats left the briefing expressing frustration that they were not shown the unedited video.
However, Congress has moved to strengthen its oversight powers. On Wednesday, lawmakers sent the annual defence policy bill to President Trump’s desk with a provision that would withhold 25 per cent of Hegseth’s travel budget until unedited videos of the strikes are made available to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.