Report: Suspects Survived Latest Drug-Boat Strike

The U.S. military conducted another strike on a drug boat off Venezuela on Thursday, according to Reuters - and this time, there are reports of survivors. The report arrives on the same day as the early and unexpected retirement of the head of U.S. Southern Command.

The administration began using lethal force against Venezuelan-linked vessels in early September, and the latest strike brings the total count to six intercepts and at least 27 fatalities. The first five attacks were uniformly deadly, whether immediately or after follow-up strikes. In each case, the Pentagon reported only fatalities. The identities of the dead have not been confirmed publicly, though police in Trinidad and Tobago are investigating if two of the deceased may have been Trinidadian citizens.

After Thursday's attack, a U.S. official quietly told Reuters and CBS that some of the individuals on the boat survived the latest strike. No further details were leaked, leaving unanswered the question of whether the survivors made it to shore alive.

On the same day, Adm. Alvin Holsey, head of Southern Command, announced that he would be retiring effective December 12. Holsey was one year into a multi-year appointment, and did not give a reason for his early departure; CNN reports that there was tension between the admiral and defense secretary Pete Hegseth over the level of aggression used against smugglers in the Caribbean, and that Holsey offered his resignation. (A Pentagon spokesman denied this account.)

Within the military, the strikes have raised certain questions about compliance. Like any other criminals, maritime drug smugglers previously had the opportunity to be arrested alive and tried in a court of law. This remains the case in most global jurisdictions, including the Eastern Pacific drug corridor: the U.S. Coast Guard is still in charge of policing this busy trafficking region, and it arrests suspects alive. Off Venezuela, where the Pentagon directs tracking and interdiction, suspects are neutralized without warning.

"When they're loaded up with drugs, they're fair game," President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

The focus on Venezuelan drug boats is one aspect of a broader U.S. pressure campaign against Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, who is accused by the White House of participating in the drug trade. President Trump has authorized the CIA to begin operations within Venezuela to target traffickers on land, and has mobilized a large strike force to the Caribbean.