The US military attacked three more ships in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, resulting in 11 deaths, claiming these were vessels of terrorists transporting drugs.
On Tuesday, 17 Feb 2026, the US military announced it had attacked three ships it accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, killing at least 11 people.
US officials stated that among the 11 male "drug trafficking terrorists" killed, four were crew members on the first ship in the eastern Pacific Ocean, four on the second ship in the eastern Pacific, and three on the third ship in the Caribbean Sea.
“Intelligence confirms these ships were traveling along well-known drug trafficking routes and were involved in drug smuggling operations,” the US Southern Command said in a social media post.
The Trump administration has conducted attacks on ships accused of drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September last year, carrying out over 40 operations that have resulted in more than 130 deaths.
However, the frequency of attacks has noticeably decreased since US forces raided Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas earlier this January, with the US accusing Maduro's government of collaborating with drug gangs.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the overall operation aims to eliminate “drug trafficking terrorists from our hemisphere” and protect the US from “drugs that are killing our people.”
So far, the US has not presented any evidence to support its claims that the attacked ships were carrying drugs.
Some legal experts have argued that such attacks may be illegal and violate international law, as they target civilians without proper judicial process.
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Source:bbc