Deadly U.S. Strike Hits Day Before CARICOM Summit

The U.S. military carried out a lethal strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean Sea on Monday, killing three people. The operation, announced by U.S. Southern Command, took place a day before the CARICOM 50th Heads of Government Meeting, which is being attended by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

U.S. Southern Command said in a post on X that the targeted boat was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The statement added that no U.S. forces were harmed in the strike.

The latest strike marks the continuation of an aggressive U.S. campaign against what the administration describes as “narcoterrorists” operating at sea. Pentagon figures show more than 40 strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, with at least 150 people killed.

President Donald Trump has defended the operations as necessary to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs into the United States. Administration officials have framed the campaign as part of a broader effort to confront well-armed criminal networks in Latin America.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will hold talks with Caribbean leaders on Wednesday focused on regional security, migration, and drug trafficking, according to the U.S. State Department.