US Coast Guard ends search for survivors of Pacific boat collision

US Military Strikes Two Boats in Eastern Pacific Amid Ongoing Campaign

The United States Coast Guard has suspended its search for survivors after conducting a three-day operation in the eastern Pacific, following a series of strikes by the US military on alleged drug smuggling boats. The Coast Guard stated that the search focused on water approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of the Mexico/Guatemala border and lasted over 65 hours without reporting any sightings of survivors.

The US military’s Southern Command reported striking three boats in a convoy in the eastern Pacific, resulting in the deaths of at least five people. Three people were killed on one boat, while two others died in a subsequent strike on another vessel. The military claimed that the boats were involved in smuggling drugs, but did not provide evidence.

The Coast Guard did not disclose how many survivors were believed to be in the water during the search operation. The US military had previously notified the Coast Guard of its strikes due to the absence of Navy ships in the immediate area.

Human rights observers and international law experts have raised concerns about the US military’s actions, labeling them as extrajudicial killings. The Trump administration has described the targets as “narcoterrorists” driven by ambitions to destabilize the US through the drug trade.

The US military’s strikes on vessels have been concentrated in waters surrounding Venezuela, which has been subject to escalating US sanctions and a significant buildup of US military forces along its borders. The Trump administration has also imposed a blockade on sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers entering and exiting the country’s coast.

In recent days, there have been reports of survivors from previous strikes being rescued and released by authorities in Ecuador and Colombia. Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro has expressed openness to negotiating with the US to combat drug trafficking, striking a more conciliatory tone after previously accusing the US of seeking to topple his government and seize the country’s oil reserves.

Source: Al Jazeera