U.S. Military Kills 156 in 45 Boat Strikes Under Counterterrorism Operation

Between September 2025 and March 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted 45 strikes on small vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, killing or presuming dead 156 people. The operation targets vessels tied to cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under a January 2025 presidential order. Strikes have continued through May 2026. The casualty toll ranks among the deadliest U.S. military interdiction campaigns in the Western Hemisphere in recent memory, though no federal court has yet reviewed the legal basis for lethal force.