On Wednesday, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported that it had executed two distinct military operations against drug-trafficking ships between December 30 and 31, resulting in the deaths of eight individuals linked to drug trafficking.
These actions were part of Operation Southern Spear.
Throughout Wednesday, SOUTHCOM shared unclassified video footage from both operations, explaining that they were conducted under the direction of U.S. Army Secretary Pete Hegseth.
First, in the afternoon, SOUTHCOM revealed that on December 30, the Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a “kinetic attack” on three vessels involved in drug trafficking, which were traveling in a convoy along known routes in international waters. These ships were transferring illicit cargo before being targeted. The boats were linked to a recognized terrorist organization.
“In the initial engagement, three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed. The others abandoned the other two ships and sank them during the ensuing confrontation,” SOUTHCOM stated.
Additionally, SOUTHCOM immediately alerted the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts after the engagement, although specific details were not provided.
The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that on December 30, it had been informed by the Department of the Army about a mariner in distress in the Pacific, and ongoing search and rescue operations were underway. Further updates would follow, as noted in their social media posts.
Later that evening, SOUTHCOM released footage of a December 31 “lethal kinetic attack” on two additional vessels operated by the same terrorist group.
“Intelligence had verified that these vessels were operating along known drug trafficking routes and were involved in illegal activities. Five narco-terrorists were killed during these operations—three on the first vessel and two on the second,” SOUTHCOM detailed.
The two operations announced by SOUTHCOM brought the total number of known drug-trafficking vessels attacked in international waters to 35 since the operation commenced in September, resulting in at least 115 narco-terrorists killed.
This airstrike supports President Donald Trump’s initiative to combat the influx of dangerous drugs into the United States as part of Operation Southern Spear, aimed at dismantling global maritime drug trafficking networks.
These strikes mark the third reported operations from SOUTHCOM this week alone. Earlier, on Monday, it was disclosed that two narco-terrorists were killed in a “fatal impact” against another drug-trafficking vessel in international waters.
RELATED: U.S. Southern Command releases more footage showing the destruction of a drug ship.
In December 2025, SOUTHCOM had made unclassified footage available from four different military actions against narco-terrorists in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
As of now, there have been no reported casualties among U.S. forces since these military actions against narco-terrorists began in international waters in September.
