US military says strike on alleged drug vessel in eastern Pacific kills five people

US military says it carried out an airstrike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in latest attack in region

The US ⁠military ⁠said on Tuesday ⁠it killed ⁠five people after an airstrike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the ⁠eastern Pacific.

Tuesday’s strike was among more than 70 such attacks since the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidency, according to media tallies. Collectively, they have killed more than 240 people.

The Trump administration has maintained the people and boats were involved in trafficking. Trump has said the US is locked in armed conflict with Latin American cartels while justifying strikes as necessary to stem the flow of drugs into the US.