The US military has killed at least 148 people in strikes that have destroyed 44 boats as part of a campaign that Washington says is aimed at curtailing the flow of drugs into the United States, according to official announcements and CNN's analysis of search and rescue efforts. There have been at least 13 survivors of those strikes, two of whom were briefly detained by the US Navy before being returned to their home countries. 11 others are presumed dead after searches did not locate them in the water.
The US Coast Guard launched a search for an unspecified number of survivors who abandoned ship before their vessels were struck on December 30 in international waters. The Coast Guard suspended its search on January 2. Officials subsequently said there had been eight survivors they were attempting to locate. The Coast Guard similarly launched searches for survivors of boat strikes on October 27, January 23 and February 9, but all three searches were suspended without locating the men.
The Trump administration has told Congress that the US is now in an "armed conflict" against drug cartels beginning with its first strike on September 2, labeling those killed "unlawful combatants" and claiming the ability to engage in lethal strikes without judicial reviewdue to a classified Justice Department finding.
Some members of Congress as well as human rights groups have questioned that finding and argued that potential drug traffickers should face prosecution, as had been the policy of interdiction carried out by the US before President Donald Trump took office.
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The Trump administration has also not provided public evidence of the presence of narcotics on the boats struck, nor their affiliation with drug cartels.
Military officials have said that no US service members have been harmed in the strikes.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
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