US Coast Guard Suspends Search for Survivors of Drug Boat Strikes in Pacific Ocean

A still image released on Dec. 31, 2025, shows what U.S. officials said was a narco-trafficking vessel. U.S. Southern CommandThe U.S. Coast Guard said on Jan. 2 that it has halted efforts to search for people in the water after U.S. forces attacked drug-smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean earlier this week.The U.S. Southern Command earlier said its forces had conducted kinetic strikes against a convoy of three “narco-trafficking vessels” in the Pacific on Dec. 30, killing three people on the first vessel. It stated that individuals on the other two vessels jumped into the sea before follow-up strikes sank their boats.