Four men were killed after U.S. forces conducting Joint Task Force Operation Southern Spear struck a boat allegedly carrying illicit narcotics in the Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command announced Wednesday. According to Antigua News Room, the strike brings the total death toll from Operation Southern Spear to 160 people across 47 strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels, including 10 individuals who initially survived but were later presumed dead following unsuccessful search and rescue operations.
The targeted vessel was allegedly operated by "designated terrorist organizations," though SOUTHCOM did not name a specific group in its post on social media platform X.
This marks the third strike carried out under the operation in March alone. A previous strike on March 20 in the Eastern Pacific left three survivors, but the U.S. Coast Guard has not provided an update on their condition.
Separately, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Ecuador Navy seized 592 kilograms of cocaine Tuesday in international waters off the coast of Ecuador, SOUTHCOM announced in a post on X.
The number of U.S. Navy warships operating within the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility has declined as the United States shifts its strategic focus toward Iran. USS Gettysburg (CG-64), an independently deployed guided-missile cruiser, returned to its home port in Norfolk on Monday, as previously reported by USNI News.
As of Monday, the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group remained in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility, alongside cruiser USS Lake Erie (CG-70) and destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG-106). It remains unclear whether the U.S. will deploy another cruiser to replace the Gettysburg.
