Strikes on three more alleged drug boats kill 11 people, says U.S. military

The U.S. military said on Tuesday (February 17, 2026) that it carried out strikes on three boats accused of smuggling drugs in Latin American waters, killing 11 people in one of the deadliest days of the Trump administration’s months-long campaign.

The series of strikes conducted on Monday (February 16, 2026) brought the death toll to at least 145 people since the administration began targeting those it calls “narco-terrorists” in small vessels since early September.

Like most of the military’s statements on the 42 known strikes, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. It said two vessels carrying four people each were struck in the eastern Pacific Ocean, while a third boat with three people was hit in the Caribbean Sea.

The military did not provide evidence that the vessels were ferrying drugs but posted videos that showed boats being destroyed.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said the U.S., is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narco-terrorists”.