By Joseph Tanfani
(Reuters) -The United States conducted another attack on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Saturday, killing three people aboard, the Pentagon said on Sunday.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” the U.S. Southern Command announced in a post on social media. The announcement said the boat was in international waters when it was struck by Joint Task Force Southern Spear.
The latest operation was the 21st known attack on drug boats by the U.S. military since early September in what it has called a justified effort to disrupt the flow of narcotics into the United States. The strikes have killed more than 80 people, according to Pentagon figures.
Lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, human rights groups and U.S. allies have raised questions about the legality of the attacks. The Trump administration has said it has the legal authority to carry out the strikes, with the Justice Department providing a legal opinion that justifies them and argues that U.S. military personnel who carry out the operations are immune from prosecution.
(Reporting by Joseph Tanfani; Editing by Sergio Non and Edmund Klamann)
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