US military kills six in strike on alleged drug boat in Pacific

"Sunday's attack brought the death toll to at least 157 people since the administration began targeting narco-terrorists in small vessels in September. As with most of the military's statements on the more than 40 known strikes in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes."

"Donald Trump has said the US is in armed conflict with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the US. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing narcoterrorists."

"Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the US over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India."

The Trump administration has escalated military operations against alleged drug traffickers in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, conducting over 40 strikes that have killed at least 157 people since September. The military claims to target narco-terrorists on known smuggling routes but has provided limited evidence of drug trafficking on targeted vessels. Trump frames these operations as necessary to combat cartels and stem drug flow into the US, and has encouraged Latin American leaders to join military action against trafficking organizations. However, critics question the strikes' legality and effectiveness, noting that fentanyl primarily enters the US overland from Mexico rather than by sea, and controversy arose after the military killed survivors of an initial attack in a follow-up strike.

Read at www.theguardian.com