US military says it struck vessel in Eastern Pacific, killing 3

WASHINGTON, May 5 - The U.S. military said on Tuesday it struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing three people, in the latest such attack that rights groups label as "extrajudicial killings" and Washington describes as targeting "narco-terrorists."

The U.S. Southern Command alleged that the vessel struck on Tuesday was operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations" that it did not identify.

It said that no U.S. military forces were harmed. It described those killed as "male narco-terrorists," without offering details.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the U.S. Southern Command said on X.

The U.S. military has made numerous such deadly strikes in the Eastern Pacific in recent weeks.

President Donald Trump's administration has been striking vessels that it accuses of transporting narcotics.

The U.S. military's strikes on such vessels have killed more than 170 people since September.

Experts and human rights advocates, both in the U.S. and globally, have questioned the legality of the strikes.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International say the strikes amount to "unlawful extrajudicial killings."

The American Civil Liberties Union casts the assertions by the Trump administration against those it targets as "unsubstantiated, fear-mongering claims." REUTERS