US boat strike kills 2 in Caribbean

The United States military said Sunday it carried out a deadly strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing two men and leaving six others stranded at sea.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the vessel was "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean" in support of the military's "Southern Spear" operation.

SOUTHCOM said it notified the US Coast Guard about the "six male survivors" without providing details of their rescue or condition.

Grainy black-and-white video footage accompanying the post showed a boat moving through the water before being struck with a projectile and engulfed in a large explosion.

The latest attack brings the total number of those killed to at least 206, according to an AFP tally, since the Trump administration began its offensive in September.

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The US military launched operation "Southern Spear" in early September, with President Donald Trump insisting Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.

Trump's administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.

Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings because they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.