On Friday, February 20, 2026, the U.S. Southern Command conducted a lethal kinetic strike in the Eastern Pacific against a suspected drug trafficking vessel, resulting in the deaths of three individuals on board. This operation is part of an ongoing six-month campaign against drug smugglers, initiated in September. The U.S. military released aerial footage of the strike, showing an explosion engulfing the boat. Since the campaign's inception, approximately 150 people have been killed. The legality of these strikes, which officially target cartels supplying drugs to the U.S., is a subject of significant debate, with some experts and UN officials condemning them as extrajudicial executions, and the Trump administration has not provided definitive proof of the vessels' involvement in trafficking.