US military kills two in 'lethal kinetic strike' in Pacific Ocean

The U.S. Southern Command announced on Monday that it had conducted a military operation killing two people on a suspected drug trafficking ship in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The military strikes on suspected drug trafficking ships in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea are part of the Trump administration's efforts to prevent drugs smuggled out of South America to the United States.

The latest strike occurred on Aug. 23 on a "low-profile vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific." Southern Command intelligence identified the vessel's involvement in narco-trafficking and traveling along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific. The strike was ordered under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

"When I ordered the establishment of Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, it was precisely for this purpose: to accelerate, synchronize, and execute lethal actions against these destabilizing narco-terrorist networks. We are committed to imposing total systemic friction on narco-terrorists — disrupting their operations, dismantling their leadership, and eliminating cartel terror across the region," Donovan said.