US military strikes against alleged drug boats have killed at least eight people over the past two days – the latest salvos in the United States’ escalating actions against what it says are drug traffickers. On New Year’s Eve, US Southern Command said the military struck two boats “operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” killing five people. That brings the total from three days of strikes this week to 10 people killed and six boats sunk, according to SOUTHCOM’s information. CNN has reached out to Southern Command regarding the search and rescue mission for any survivors of Tuesday’s strikes. In a subsequent strike, survivors were briefly detained aboard a US Navy ship before they were repatriated back to their home countries.

Source: CNN January 01, 2026 16:48 UTC