AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTIt was the third such attack by the U.S. military in three days, and the 51st attack in a campaign against people who the United States has accused of smuggling drugs.Listen · 1:23 min Francis L. Donovan at a confirmation hearing in January to become the leader of U.S. Southern Command.Credit...Eric Lee for The New York TimesApril 16, 2026, 12:15 a.m. ETThe United States military said it had struck a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing three people that it accused of smuggling drugs.The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the strike on social media. It shared a 20-second video showing a boat engulfed with bright light as it moves through water. Seconds later, the boat appears to continue floating while aflame.It was the third such strike in three days, and the 51st attack against boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific that the United States said were engaged in the narcotics trade. The attacks slowed in March but continued at an increased pace in the past week.The White House has said the killings are lawful. In a notice to Congress, the Trump administration said the president had determined that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels and that crews of drug-running boats are combatants.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT