Another alleged narco-trafficking boat destroyed in Pacific as U.S. military strike kills 3

The U.S. military carried out another strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, killing three people.

U.S. Southern Command said on social media that “intelligence confirmed” that the boat was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

The military targeted three boats in the Pacific and Caribbean earlier this week, killing 11 people.

Friday’s attack raises the death toll from the Trump administration’s strikes on alleged drug vessels, part of Operation Southern Spear, to around 140 people in 43 attacks since September.

The Pentagon says the strikes are aimed at curtailing narcotics trafficking, and President Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America.

Although Trump supporters cheer the bombings, some members of Congress have questioned the legality of the strikes.

The operations also drew criticism after it was revealed that the military killed survivors of a boat attack with a follow-up strike. The Trump administration said it was legal and necessary, while others said the killings amounted to a possible war crime.