One Killed in U.S. Attack on Suspected Drug Smuggling Boat

On Monday, U.S. Southern Command announced the destruction of another suspected smuggling boat in the waters of the Eastern Pacific, the 29th such strike since the new campaign of lethal-force interdictions began on September 2. This instance marked a new turn: video released by the military appears to show the use of cannonfire and machine gun fire to destroy the target vessel, indicating the possible involvement of an AC-130J gunship previously seen in the region.

The first 28 interdictions appeared to be carried out at a distance using small guided missiles. In the initial Caribbean phase of the operation, U.S. officials told The Intercept that the strikes were being carried out by Air Force drone units attached to U.S. Special Operations Command. The attacks were conducted with single missile strikes, with a notable and much-debated exception - a follow-up strike conducted in early September. The video of that "double tap" strike has not been released, and the Pentagon asserts that it is classified.

The video released Monday is different from prior compilations: it shows repeated and frequent small impacts interspersed with explosions, and has visual similarities to prior exercises pitting an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship against small wooden fishing vessels.

On Dec. 22, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a low-profile vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting… pic.twitter.com/LGzEaQSTiR

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 23, 2025

Monday's suspected drug boat strike (U.S. Southern Command)

Watch an AC-130J Ghostrider gunship aircraft of the #USAF's 27th SOW hunting boats during exercise #Balikatan2024 of the Philippines Armed Forces. Soon or late, these AC-130Js can hunt Chinese Coast Guard vessels during any possible maritime conflict with #China. pic.twitter.com/yYZiTZ1v4B

— Babak Taghvaee - The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) May 2, 2024

A 2024 live fire exercise in the Philippines centered on the use of the AC-130J (USAF)

At least one AC-130J is known to be operating in the Southern Command area of operations. Since mid-October, one airframe has been observed along with a P-8A maritime surveillance aircraft at Comalapa Air Base in El Salvador, a nation that enjoys friendly relations with Washington.

The aircraft can carry Hellfire guided missiles on wing pylons, but its characteristic armaments protrude from the port side of the fuselage: a 105mm howitzer mounted on a recoil carriage and a 30mm chain gun. If accurate, the 29th drug-boat strike would appear to be the first time that these weapons have been employed in the new counternarcotics effort, and the first involving visual-range gunfire by U.S. servicemembers on scene.

The legality of the strike program has been questioned by political critics, legal experts and even the United Nations' top human rights official. The program occurs outside of a declared war and targets criminal suspects in the smuggling trade, who have been historically viewed as civilians rather than combatants, even if their activities have lethal effects on U.S. citizens.

In October, former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo advised that the strikes could be considered planned attacks on civilian criminals, and as such, could be viewed as crimes against humanity under international law - opening the possibility of legal hazards for participating servicemembers. The Pentagon asserts that the strikes are fully lawful.