Joint Task Force Southern Spear, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, conducted a lethal kinetic strike on December 17, 2025, against a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization in international waters along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific, killing four male narco-terrorists with no US harm, US Southern Command announced on X just before 1:45 AM UTC. Intelligence confirmed the vessel was engaged in narco-trafficking operations, according to the Southcom post referencing Operation Southern Spear. The announcement came amid ongoing US Southern Command activities in its area of responsibility, where at least 14 Navy surface ships were operating as of a recent snapshot shared by X user Ian Ellis-Jones, as previously reported.
