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Current Affairs

Mapping Out US Alleged Drug Boat Strikes

Mapping Out US Alleged Drug Boat Strikes

Since they began in September 2025, the US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have…

By Samantha Johnson / May 5, 2026

THE LATEST: The US launched a strike in the Caribbean on May 4, 2026, killing two. In April, the US military launched eight strikes, killing 23 people. There have been 56 strikes that have left 188 dead since the strikes began in September 2025.

56 strikes

188 killed

Last updated: May 5, 2026

Since they began in September 2025, the US strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific have been marked by their opacity. 

US Southern Command (Southcom), which is conducting the campaign against vessels it says are transporting drugs, typically provides little information about the location of strikes, other than that they occurred in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific, along “known narco-trafficking routes.” In certain cases, no descriptor is given beyond “international waters.”

See InSight Crime’s timeline of the US alleged drug boat strikes here

Map of Drug Boat Strikes and Destroyed Vessels

The maps above show approximately where those strikes occurred and the number of people they have killed. It also illustrates how the frequency of the strikes has varied since the start of these operations. 

To map the strikes, InSight Crime used data from Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), as well as information gathered directly from inquiries to Southcom and media sources. However, the lack of information around the strikes means that in most cases only the general area the operation took place in is known, not the precise location. To maintain accuracy, the majority of the strikes have been mapped using the general “Caribbean” or “eastern Pacific” categories.

The early strikes, which started in September 2025, took place in the Caribbean. A significant proportion of drugs that pass through the Caribbean ultimately end up in Europe, rather than the United States, which undermines US President Donald Trump’s claim that each boat destroyed saved “25,000 American lives.” Beginning in late October, the strikes spread to the eastern Pacific, where the majority have occurred since.

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