Two people were killed, and six others survived, a strike on Sunday that the US military claimed—without providing evidence—targeted a boat full of “narco-terrorists,” but that human rights defenders called another summary execution worthy of prosecution.

“On June 21, at the direction of the commander of US Southern Command, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” USSOUTHCOM said in a statement. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”

“Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action, and there were six male survivors,” the statement added. “Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”

More lawless killing in the Trump administration’s boat bombing campaign.Real killing in a phony armed conflict with “narco-terrorists.”This strike reportedly left 6 survivors.US record for rescuing survivors alive is…not great.

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— Brian Finucane (@bcfinucane.bsky.social) June 21, 2026 at 11:28 PM

According to The Intercept’s Nick Turse, who has tracked all of the reported US boat bombings in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, there have now been 66 such strikes, which have killed 215 people and left 12 survivors, based on USSOUTHCOM data.

The fate of previous boat strike survivors is not completely clear. After one April bombing, the US Coast Guard told UPI that search-and-rescue operations were called off after no signs of survivors were found. Last October, President Donald Trump said two strike survivors were repatriated to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, where they faced prosecution.

Survivors of some of the strikes have accused US forces of torturing them.

Relatives of people killed in previous US boat bombings, as well as officials in Venezuela and Colombia, have said that numerous victims were fishers who were not involved in the illicit drug trade.

In January, relatives of two Trinidadian fishers killed in the strikes filed a federal wrongful death lawsuit in Massachusetts.

“The summary execution of two more in an alleged drug boat brings the number of murders ordered by Trump to more than 210,” former Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth said on social media. “There will come a day when he faces prosecution for these crimes.”

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