MIAMI, Fla. (Feb. 21, 2026) — United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) confirmed that U.S. military forces conducted a lethal kinetic strike against a drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Feb. 20, neutralizing three individuals onboard.

According to SOUTHCOM, the operation was carried out after intelligence assessments determined the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization and was actively engaged in narco-trafficking activities along established drug transit routes in the region. The specific organization was not identified.

“Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” SOUTHCOM stated in an official release on X. The command also published a 16-second video of the strike on its social media platforms.

The Feb. 20 operation marks the second counter-narcotics strike this week. On Feb. 16, U.S. forces targeted three drug-trafficking vessels operating in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in 11 traffickers killed. No U.S. personnel were injured during that engagement.

Both operations were conducted as part of Operation Southern Spear, a regional security initiative launched in November 2025 by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to disrupt and dismantle narco-terrorist networks operating throughout the Western Hemisphere.

Since September 2025, U.S. forces have executed multiple interdiction and strike operations across the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to curb the flow of illegal narcotics into the United States.

In support of these operations, the Pentagon deployed the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world’s largest aircraft carrier — to SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility in October.

The command’s jurisdiction includes Central America, South America, and the Caribbean, where counter-narcotics and regional security missions remain ongoing.