As part of its anti-narcotics campaign, the United States Navy and Coast Guard have conducted a total of 36 military operations over the past nearly four months in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of at least 126 people. The information was disclosed on Monday (January 26) in a statement issued by the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).
According to the statement, of the 126 people killed in the operations launched since September, the bodies of 116 have been recovered. The remaining 10 bodies could not be retrieved after being lost at sea. However, the US military confirmed that they went missing after being killed during US operations. The statement also claimed that at least eight of the deceased had jumped into the sea from vessels or small boats in an attempt to evade US strikes, but did not survive.
The report noted that former President Donald Trump ordered the operations in September, citing allegations that illicit drugs were entering the United States “like a flood” via maritime routes through the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean. Following his directive, the US Navy and Coast Guard began joint operations across the two regions.
According to the Trump administration, a significant portion of the drugs entering the United States originates from Mexico and several South American countries, with the primary trafficking routes running through the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. Trump further alleged that criminal gangs involved in drug trafficking receive direct or indirect support from the ruling authorities of several South American nations.
As part of this escalation, US forces reportedly carried out a military operation in Venezuela on January 3, during which Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were taken from the presidential residence in Caracas and brought to the United States. The Maduro–Flores couple has been accused of involvement in drug trafficking, and preparations are underway for their trial in US courts.
Sources: AFP, NDTV, The Hindu.