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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Hugo Lowell and Guardian staff

US military kills five people in strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in Pacific

a warship
A US navy missile destroyer near Panama City, Panama, on 2 September 2025. Photograph: Daniel Gonzalez/Anadolu via Getty Images

The US military has for the first time attacked and destroyed two boats on the Pacific side of South America, as part of its controversial fight against what it says are drug-trafficking activities.

The strikes – on Tuesday night and then early on Wednesday – killed five people, according to the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth. They came on top of at least seven other strikes in the Caribbean that have killed at least 32 people and raised tensions with Colombia and Venezuela.

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