US kills five in attack on alleged drug boats, searches for survivors

At least five people have been killed by the US military in yet another alleged drug smuggling boat attack, and the coastguard has been ordered to launch a search for survivors.

The location of the attacks was not disclosed in the US Southern Command’s statement on Wednesday.

The eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea have previously been the target of attacks.

The military claimed the ships were in a convoy along known narco-trafficking routes and that they “had transferred narcotics between the three vessels prior to the strikes” in a video posted by the Southern Command on social media.

The claim was denied by the military because there was no supporting evidence.

According to the statement, “Three narco-terrorists were killed in the first engagement aboard the first vessel.” The remaining narco-terrorists “abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before subsequent engagements sank their respective vessels,” the statement continued.

Later, it claimed that the vessel was struck twice by another vessel and that the second ship struck caused two fatalities.

The US Coast Guard was informed to “activate the Search and Rescue system,” according to the military.

The US military’s request for a rescue mission was notable because it attracted significant scrutiny after it carried out a follow-up strike on their disabled boat in early September, killing the victims of the attack.

While the administration of US President Donald Trump and some Republican lawmakers claim that the follow-up strike was legal, some Democrats and legal experts claim that the military committed a crime.

Eight people were being sought in the Pacific Ocean after leaving their vessels, according to a US official cited by the Reuters news agency.

The US Coast Guard also disclosed to the agency that it was working with nearby vessels and had deployed a C-130 aircraft to search for survivors.

Under the Trump administration, there have also been survivors of previous US strikes. After surviving a US military strike, two survivors were repatriated to their home countries in October.

Following a second US strike that had left a victim, Mexican authorities launched a search and rescue operation later that month. That person was not discovered.

According to the Trump administration’s announcements, the attacks on Wednesday increase the total number of known boat strikes to 33 and the total number of fatalities to at least 112.

Trump has asserted that Washington is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels while denying that the attacks are a necessary escalation to halt the flow of drugs into the US.

As part of an ongoing campaign to pressure Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the US accuses of narco-terrorism, his administration has also established military forces in the area, including the deployment of more than 15, 000 troops.

Caracas denies any involvement in drug trafficking and asserts that Washington is attempting to seize Maduro’s largest oil reserves in the world.

Trump claimed on Monday that this was the first time Washington had conducted land operations in Venezuela and that it had “hit” an area where ships are loaded with drugs.