US Says Four Killed in Caribbean Strike on Suspected Drug Vessel

The United States military says it killed four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean that it alleged was involved in drug trafficking.

The US Southern Command said on Saturday that intelligence had confirmed the vessel was actively involved in what it described as “narco-trafficking” before the strike was carried out.

The operation is part of a wider US military campaign against vessels that the Trump administration has accused of being linked to drug trafficking and “narco-terrorism.”

The latest strike comes about 10 days after another US operation in the Caribbean in which three people were reportedly killed, according to the US military.

Since the campaign began last year, US strikes on vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific have killed more than 220 people, according to Reuters.

However, human rights organisations have criticised the operations, describing the attacks as “extrajudicial killings.”

The US military has continued to defend the strikes as measures aimed at disrupting illegal drug trafficking in the region.