On December 17, 2025, the United States military carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel allegedly affiliated with “a Designated Terrorist Organization,” reportedly killing four men described as “narco-terrorists” in international waters in the Eastern Pacific.

This strike was announced by U.S. Southern Command @Southcom on Twitter/X on December 17th. The statement detailed that the strike was on a vessel allegedly “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.” In a black and white video included in the post, a boat with what appear to be people visible can be seen moving through the water until it explodes, and a further zoomed out view show the boat on fire.

There were no additional details found among local sources about the victims.

Methodological note about classification of those killed in this incident

In documenting this incident, Airwars is following the guidance outlined by independent International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law experts, whereby those on the vessels are understood to be civilians, given that the legal framework in which the strikes are being conducted remains in question.

Airwars has therefore included a civilian casualty count of four deaths.