MIAMI – The United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced that U.S. forces carried out a lethal strike on a suspected drug-smuggling speedboat in the Caribbean on Sunday, October 4, killing four people on board.
According to the military statement, intelligence indicated that the vessel was involved in drug-trafficking activities and was traveling along routes known to be used by narcotics traffickers.
SOUTHCOM said four people were killed in the operation, describing those on board as “narcoterrorists.”
The announcement provided few additional details about the circumstances surrounding the strike.
U.S. authorities did not identify the four people killed or specify their nationalities. SOUTHCOM also did not disclose which criminal or drug-trafficking organization they were allegedly associated with.
No information was provided about the type or quantity of narcotics believed to have been aboard the vessel.
The exact location of the operation in the Caribbean was also not disclosed.
The announcement therefore leaves several questions unanswered, including where the vessel originated, where it was heading and what intelligence led U.S. forces to conclude that those aboard were involved in drug trafficking.
According to the information released, however, U.S. authorities considered the vessel to be operating on established narcotics-trafficking routes in the Caribbean Sea.