On May 26, 2026, the United States military carried out a kinetic strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean allegedly affiliated with “Designated Terrorist Organizations,” reportedly killing one man described as a “narco-terrorist.” Two other people described as “narco-terrorists” survived the strike but were not reported as found during search and rescue operations.

The strike was announced by U.S. Southern Command in a press release on May 26th. The statement detailed that “at the direction of SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan” the strike was on a vessel which intelligence confirmed allegedly “was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” SOUTHCOM said that it “immediately” notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate search and rescue.

In a video included in the online press release, a boat can be seen moving through the water until an explosion occurs causing flames and smoke. Near the end of the video, at least two objects can be seen smoking in the water but the video is not clear enough to identify what they are.

A U.S. official told The New York Times that the Mexican Navy was responsible for the search and rescue operations. CBS News also cited the Mexican Navy as confirming that they had received an alert from the U.S. Coast Guard.

There has been no further information found about the supposed survivors. In line with Airwars’ methodology, without information about the outcome of the search and rescue mission, the individual is assumed dead. This is captured in the upper casualty range for the incident.

The LA Times reported in an article published in July 2026 that 28-year-old Jesús Rangel Romero and two other men from Puerto San Carlos set out from Guatemala, heading toward Colombia on May 26th but their families lost contact with them after that. 27-year old Marbella Para Amador, wife of Rangel Romero, was not part of trafficking operations but as the local economy was suffering and he was under pressure to provide for his one-year-old daughter, he accepted a smuggling job. The smuggles who hired Rangel Romero told his wife that he had been killed but it is unclear in which incident as the U.S. declared strikes on boats in the eastern Pacific on May 26, May 27 (USMAR260527a), May 29 (USMAR260529a) and May 30 (USMAR260530a). Therefore, information about these victims have been included in all four incidents (except in the victim's list) and will be updated should more information become available.

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 one to three deaths.