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News & Current Events Apr 13, 2026 at 11:41 AM

Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5 in eastern Pacific, U.S. military says

Posted by MrPotluck


Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5 in eastern Pacific, U.S. military says
WHRO Public Media
Strikes on alleged drug boats kill 5 in eastern Pacific, U.S. military says
The U.S. military said Sunday that it blew up two boats accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, as the Trump administration pursues its campaign against alleged traffickers in Latin America.

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2HDFloppyDisk 6 days ago +1126
So many lawless acts murdering people without due process and without affording any due process to the accused. What a time to try and sail international waters. Meanwhile, drugs are still a massive problem in the US. Almost as if we’re looking in the wrong places for drugs.
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Cohens4thClient 6 days ago +596
Trump gave a pardon to a Honduras drug lord who shipped 800,000 pounds of cocaine to the US. 
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darksunshaman 6 days ago +182
And then kidnapped to head of Venezuela...for reasons?
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Green_Shape_3859 6 days ago +124
Because he wouldn’t give trump a percentage
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homiej420 6 days ago +42
^^^ Make a donation. Get a pardon. Dont? Deposed
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twentyafterfour 6 days ago +57
This end goal was to cause complete societal collapse and untold amounts of suffering so american companies can move in and extract their wealth with little resistance. So basically standard US practice but without any of the usual effort to dress it up and sell it to the public as something everyone benefits from. > Pressure is building in Venezuela. > > Unlike China, the USA cannot fully supply Venezuela with the goods it needs. America lacks the production capacity and the supply networks required to support the entire country. > > The key issue is thay even with American sanctions in place, Venezuela under Maduro was still able to trade with China. > > They exchanged oil for products, medicines, and other essential goods on a barter basis. After relations with China broke down, inflation exploded. It reached 649.5 percent by March 2026. The International Monetary Fund expects it to go above 682 percent by the end of the year. > Right now Venezuelas oil money is being sent to a special account controlled by the US Treasury. > > Remember that the United States has also essentially seized Venezuelas gold reserves. These moves are speeding up the collapse of the national currency. The situation is spiraling out of control. [Source](https://x.com/BowesChay/status/2043452914862371129?s=20)
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The-Devilz-Advocate 5 days ago +21
Not trying to start an us vs them position, but it's insane that you state all that and link to a guy on twitter, a journalist with clear Anti-West and Pro-Russian views and connections to the point Russia invited him to the UN to call the Ukraine conflict a proxy war only meant to destabilize Ukraine and flood it with guns, as if Russia wasn't the one that started the war.
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digitalwolverine 5 days ago +4
Those reasons include a case regarding oil rights. A judge had ruled the year prior that the case would not move forward except in the instance the region was under political turmoil. A member of the administration’s son was an interested party in the case. With Maduro captured, the case was allowed to move forward. 
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Cohens4thClient 5 days ago +4
I missed this detail, and sadly I wont doubt any shady c*** that oil companies would do, especially with Dementia Donnie doing what he's told
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TheUnholyJuan 6 days ago +26
He also made a deal with one of El Chapo’s son so 17 members of their family could come into the US. So the bribe was big enough for them!
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eeyore134 6 days ago +8
He also let the families of a cartel buy their way into the country.
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BlueHighwindz 5 days ago +6
Weak on crime.
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the_boss_sauce 6 days ago +1
*to his son
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Indaflow 6 days ago +76
They probably have a deal with drug dealers and are taking out the competition for kickbacks. They are using our tax debt and our resources to generate mafia style favors and income. Don’t believe it’s an accident 
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Substantial_Back_865 5 days ago +6
They’ve always done that, but it’s hard to believe anything this administration says. Pretty high chance there weren’t even drugs on that boat.
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[deleted] 5 days ago +2
[deleted]
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Indaflow 5 days ago +2
I think that’s what usually happens. Turn a blind eye etc. But now we are openly blowing up random boats in plain sight. 
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Adezar 5 days ago +10
You can't really solve the drug problem on the supply side. They are too easy to create and the the demand is very inelastic so the drug producers can just increase the price to cover any losses with captured shipments. As always the people being harmed the most by the war on drugs are the drug users, and what most people don't like to admit is a large amount of those drug users are perfectly functional members of society.
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eeyore134 6 days ago +6
Almost as if it's not about drugs at all.
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manic_andthe_apostle 6 days ago +3
They hate the competition.
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Confident-Pace4314 5 days ago +3
And somehow we keep locking people up claiming its for our benefit and not for thier profit
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DjangoTheBlack 6 days ago +3
The call is coming from inside the house
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azurricat2010 6 days ago +1
BuT dUe PrOcEsS iS oNlY fOr AmErIcAnS!
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Suchisthe007life 6 days ago +354
You guys are still blowing up these fishing boats?!?!
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RavensQueen502 6 days ago +141
Why would they stop? It isn't like anyone is going to stop them
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macnbloo 6 days ago +38
It's terrorism plain and simple
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No_Mercy_4_Potatoes 6 days ago +63
Only time they won't face retaliation. Following Israel's playbook. Always go for the unarmed innocents
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MrPotluck 6 days ago +32
It was a surprise to me, too.
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xspicypotatox 5 days ago +8
Those terrorists (the U.S. government) never really stopped, just underreported due to more marketable issues
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toggiz_the_elder 6 days ago +8
The pause in Iran means Hegseth and Trump have to get their war crimes somewhere else.
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johnnycyberpunk 6 days ago +1
Whelp. Then won't be long before the Cuban Invasion aka *Bay of Pigs 2: Pork Boogaloo* happens.
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LordSoren 5 days ago +3
I thought they got bored of fishing boats and decided to attack Iranian ships.
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Suchisthe007life 5 days ago +3
Iranian’s fought back.
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manical1 6 days ago +1
blowing things up is the asmr of the trump administration...
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[deleted] 6 days ago -31
[removed]
-31
Terrible-Fig4770 6 days ago +26
Okay nice! There's one boat and last time I checked the penalty for moving weight isn't death. How about the other 46 boats? Only 46 war crimes left to solve
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International_Goat31 6 days ago +13
It doesn't matter whether the boats are full of drugs, human organs, or kidnap victims. The punishment for any of those is not to be blown up. You get taken to court. That's the entire point. This is just murder.
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Prize-Wolverine-1311 5 days ago +5
Wow, hidden comment history... who would have thought?
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Daidis 6 days ago +16
Still not legal, still no due process, still outright murder.
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TheLandOfConfusion 5 days ago +4
>Even the Dominican Republic found drugs on the boats the US destroyed. do we normally have trials for people who break the law, or do we just bomb them on sight?
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Cohens4thClient 6 days ago +241
All the murders in the middle east made me forget about all the murders on "alleged" drug boats that never seem to have drugs. 
241
jlharper 6 days ago +87
Wouldn’t matter if they did have drugs, you can’t murder drug traffickers, you can only arrest them legally speaking.
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toggiz_the_elder 6 days ago +43
Seriously. Drug smuggling isn’t even a capital offense. There is no logic in this
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Own-Paramedic3963 5 days ago +13
The logic is to show us how much they value human life to make you subconsciously fearful of standing up to them. Its psychological warfare using human beings as play things.
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EvidenceBasedSwamp 5 days ago +1
Google "drug trafficker". Click on images. Scroll down a little. notice a pattern? That's what's in the mind of the average American when you say "drug trafficker".
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PurpleMclaren 5 days ago
I thought US is under sharia law? Why is trump posting praise Allah?
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Dat_Mawe3000 6 days ago +11
Unfortunately it seems they *can* murder alleged drug traffickers because nobody is doing a f****** thing to stop them.
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bostoncrabsandwich 6 days ago +18
They might have drugs; they might not. It speaks to how little the administration cares that they've never even bothered to stop one of these boats and actually confiscate the drugs in order to prove their claims. They just don't care.
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lenzflare 5 days ago +9
The goal is to blow up boats, they wouldn't want anything interfering with that, like not discovering drugs.
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EvolutionDude 6 days ago +144
Another terrorist attack by the secretary of war crimes
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johnnycyberpunk 6 days ago +42
> Another terrorist attack by the secretary of war crimes Sure, he's in charge so ultimately responsible and should go to prison for these crimes. But **so should the Navy personnel carrying out the orders**. From the admirals down to the sailors on the boats launching the drones or missiles or whatever. Integrity *used* to be something that was a core value of our military. "Do what's right, even if no one is looking. Even if it means you lose your job."
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-Yazilliclick- 5 days ago +12
Yup they should all be facing charges. Of course non will. They have zero justification for thinking killing alleged drug traffickers not even in the US in this manner is in any way a legal order.
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Plenty-Difficulty276 6 days ago +6
Pete kegsbreath.
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Setsune_W 6 days ago +89
Reminder that even if they were actually transporting drugs, that's not a "murder on sight" offense, no matter how Tough On Crime you want to appear. They're just killing people to get themselves off and using our armed forces to do it.
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prof0ak 5 days ago +22
Desensitize our military members to regularly killing people?
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EvidenceBasedSwamp 5 days ago +2
I'm pretty sure that's what they are doing with ICE, training them slowly so they'll do whatever Trump wants during midterms.
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kosmokramr 6 days ago +15
Last I checked we had a court system for handling criminal prosecution. Commiting a crime, even a serious one isn’t an automatic death sentence. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?
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Ok-Grand-1492 6 days ago +6
"It's not on American soil so the constitution doesn't apply." And don't forget, "We're in a war against drugs so it's not a crime against humanity," while somehow simultaneously "We're not at war so it's not a war crime." There's a shallow excuse for any mention of accountability, so long as *everyone* keeps failing to pursue actual accountability.
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[deleted] 5 days ago +1
[deleted]
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Ok-Grand-1492 5 days ago +1
Trump isn't the actual problem imo; there are far, far too many people behind him. And a number of those people have been gathering power behind the scenes and crippling American politics for decades.
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Sans-valeur 6 days ago +10
Were the Sacklers on them?
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Equivalent-Fold1415 6 days ago +26
Trump is a mass murderer
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GoWest1223 6 days ago +33
Good job Navy. Real brave guys. Keep those files out of the news.
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CombinationSad8742 6 days ago +25
This point really shouldn’t be overlooked. Some piece of shit pulled the trigger on people who he knew f****** well were not enemy combatants or combatants of any kind. Just because someone paid him to. F*** him.
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ShockedNChagrinned 6 days ago +15
Flood the zone. Bribery, financial manipulation, murder, unlawful war, pay-for-play pardons, deregulation of safety controls, defunding of congressionally allocated funding, ignore subpoenas, ignore judges, ignore emoluments, remove dissidents from power or jobs, insult and disparage through lies, etc.
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Indaflow 6 days ago +63
War crimes Hague Throw them all in jail. 
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TheGreatButz 6 days ago +59
These aren't even war crimes, it's literally just mass murder.
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Indaflow 6 days ago +15
If it’s murder using our military, then it’s a war crime. Either way…  Hague, Throw them all in jail. 
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TheGreatButz 6 days ago +5
I don't think that's correct. War crimes occur during war. This is important because the standards are much harsher for ordinary crimes and much looser for war crimes because the latter are always evaluated relative to military objectives. For example, as long as the intention is to kill enemy combatants, the Geneva Conventions allow the killing of civilians as long as enemy combatants were the primary targets, the attack was commensurate towards achieving well-defined military objectives, and there were some efforts to minimize civilian casualties. For example, if you kill two generals and eight civilian bystanders, this is not necessarily a war crime (but it's in the end for a court to decide). In contrast, such killings are inexcusable during peace time, for example during maritime police action. Generally, the shooting of suspects without being attacked by them is always a crime at peace time, whereas shooting at suspected enemy combatants is not automatically a crime during war time. That's why the US Navy will probably say "we were at war against drugs" when asked...
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EvidenceAccurate8914 6 days ago
Surely you need a war to commit war crimes?
0
Auctoritate 5 days ago +5
The definition is fairly broad. United States law may state that only congressionally voted on wars are actual wars, but the Geneva Conventions aren't so stupid that a country can't just wage a war and say "Well under our country's definition it doesn't count."
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[deleted] 6 days ago
[deleted]
0
EvidenceAccurate8914 6 days ago +1
Well, no. I was just asking an honest question because what you said surprised me so I wondered if you knew something I didn’t. No need to get upset. You’re*
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Khatib 5 days ago +3
If reasonable people ever get control of the government again, everyone in these chains of commands need to go on trial and face the UCMJ for this shit.
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No-Marsupial-7385 6 days ago +2
The US doesn’t belong to the International Criminal Court. So…
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SnepButts 6 days ago +4
Hopefully he goes on a trip to a country that does and gets arrested.
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Moneyshot_ITF 6 days ago -4
They withdrew when Trump took over for this reason
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RetroEvolute 6 days ago +3
The US was sadly never a part of it. It was not ratified in 2002 under W Bush.
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Human-Election-9939 6 days ago +2
Crimes against humanity
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worldscollice 5 days ago +6
Zero evidence. No due process. Probably fishermen again. Five more murders for the Trump administration.
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ScriptKiddo69 6 days ago +30
Every single person responsible for these warcrimes needs to be held accountable. And I mean EVERYONE. The people performing these strikes, the people giving the orders, the people collecting the intel, etc. They need to rot in jail for the rest of their miserable existence.
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black_flag_4ever 6 days ago +4
This is terrorism in our name and its sickening.
4
BuccaneerRex 6 days ago +5
Republicans have no principles. They'll swear they are loyal to the Constitution and then bend over backwards to explain why it doesn't apply.
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That70s_Scrubs 6 days ago +4
How in the f*** is there still time for this shit with the mess going on in Iran?
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fakeaccount572 6 days ago +1
I would venture to guess (somewhat educated, I did 22 years in the Navy) that they're using West Coast Navy and Marine assets to do this mass murder. Most of the US firepower and aircraft etc support going to Iran are mostly from our east coast and overseas bases.
1
Captcha_Imagination 5 days ago +4
The crack sprinkling tactics of LA cops, but on the world stage
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turb0_encapsulator 5 days ago +3
no proof. no trial. no laws.
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To-Far-Away-Times 5 days ago +4
“Death penalty until proven innocent.”
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EMPgoggles 6 days ago +6
Why did that news article about the Israeli government obliterating villages in Lebanon get deleted from News?
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Kozmic_River 6 days ago +8
The drug boats are “alleged” but the execution was real. My next and possibly last vote will go to any candidate that vows to hold the Trump administration accountable for every war crime, every fraudulent scheme, every cover up, and every murder that the have committed. They are a perversion of every proposed American value in the worst, most extreme way.
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Shesversatile 6 days ago +3
I feel like they think killing people is fun. Like it’s a video game or some shit.
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Ok-Grand-1492 6 days ago +3
Ah, so we're still doing that. Lovely. Great. And here I thought the 'problem' was Venezuela's leadership, and had been 'solved'.
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FrancisCabrou 5 days ago +3
What about alleged pedophiles ?
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LetsGetElevated 5 days ago +3
War crime number 999999 for this administration, the Trump administration is the world’s leading terrorist organization
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SeminaryStudentARH 5 days ago +3
Oh we’re back to murdering without due process? I guess Trump can’t go more than few weeks without sending the military to murder people.
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forgot_my_useragain 5 days ago +3
Wait for the strikes on 'alleged' drug houses in the US. Oh wow what a coincidence they all belonged to registered Democrats...
3
groggs42 5 days ago +3
I swear Hegseth must m********* to war footage. The way he peacocks and talks at the briefings is disgusting.
3
Neobullseye1 6 days ago +2
Ah, I see we're back to murdering people on 'America's' hemisphere instead of the Eurasian one?
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coolpapa2282 6 days ago +1
The military budget is huge. We can do both at the same time.
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paranoiajack 6 days ago +2
I wish we could, you know, just stop killing people.
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fullmoon63 6 days ago +2
Even if it was a drug operation, loss of life like this is still tragic.
2
Immediate-Machine370 6 days ago +2
Did Pete feel a little murdery?
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Sweatytubesock 6 days ago +2
More murder on the high seas.
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KenUsimi 6 days ago +2
Oh goodie, my government is murdering people again
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DriftMantis 6 days ago +2
I remember the days when extrajudicial executions carried out by the military would be front page news and congress would drag people in to testify, but obviously those days are long gone. Just more executed people that society barely notices, what a shame.
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Lokarin 5 days ago +2
If a boat made out of drugs containing only drugs and crewed by anthropomorphic drugs approached your shoreline... that's still not worthy of murder.
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ColdButCozy 5 days ago +2
Oh wow, they’re still doing that too? Actually, why ami surprised
2
MilkyBlue 5 days ago +2
We better follow through with war crime trials for these fucks
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xflare2000 5 days ago +2
Remember, the American Military are VERY happy to carry out these orders.
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Time-Industry-1364 5 days ago +2
So at what point will Kegbreath and other shitbags involved be held accountable?
2
freexanarchy 6 days ago +3
Translation: we probably firebombed fisherman
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[deleted] 6 days ago +2
[removed]
2
Effective-Golf-6900 6 days ago +2
Excellent question!
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itsmeEllieGeeAgain 5 days ago +1
Thank you! I’ve been scrolling looking for this.
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ZenRage 6 days ago +4
In the US, we cannot keep drugs out of our prisons. The primary problem is not some external supply or supplier or security: the most important factors are internal to the US and of them DEMAND is the most important. Take some responsibility, America
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fakeaccount572 6 days ago +2
It's almost as if the US supported healthcare and substance abuse issues en masse, they wouldn't be able to fund a war on drugs, and then billionaire defense contracto......... Oh.
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ZenRage 6 days ago +1
First, the War on Drugs is over and has been for more than a decade: drugs won. Second, I am one of those people that firmly believes that the government uses illegal drugs to generate slush funds (Civil forfeiture, CIA smuggling cocaine, etc.) and to leverage our ever growing police state as a way to do an end run on our civil rights. Drugs are a health issue only as an excuse- it is first and foremost about government power and avoiding accountability.
1
StairheidCritic 6 days ago +2
President Duterte of the Philippines when in office also committed extra-judicial murders of alleged drug-dealers (and others) via Death Squads. He was indicted by The International Criminal Court and is held awaiting trial in The Hague. I cannot see any difference between Duterte's Death Squads and the US 'Military' that carried out these killings on the orders of those who command them - wearing a uniform is not a good enough excuse. *All* involved - from the highest to the lowest - should be on trial in The Hague. We know, however, that is unlikely because......well because. :/
2
Llord_Wright 6 days ago +1
Then What are the courts and prison for?
1
702PoGoHunter 6 days ago +1
On a side note, I've never heard it called the Eastern Pacific ocean. Usually just the Pacific ocean or off the coast of California, Mexico, etc.
1
Creative-Alfalfa-317 6 days ago +1
More the bigger problem, deeper the roots
1
firelemons 6 days ago +1
How much oil did it take to do that?
1
deviltrombone 6 days ago +1
If the grunts aren't held accountable, the higher-ups damn well better be. Nuremberg, baby.
1
Eggsor 6 days ago +1
They way this title reads I thought that the drug traffickers were on strike
1
NostalgiaJunkie 6 days ago +1
But were they water boats?
1
TickingTheMoments 6 days ago +1
We are back to this shit again? 
1
capz1121 5 days ago +1
So what leader is getting kidnapped next?
1
chucklefits 5 days ago +1
Oh good the "drug boat killings" are back f****** exhausting times
1
WYLFriesWthat 5 days ago +1
This is what they have to entertain their sick selves now that the pedo island is closed. Murdering fishermen with drones. 
1
roosterthumper 5 days ago +1
Man that is gonna drive up drug prices by … checks notes … nothing? Drug prices are the same? Huh, weird. Seems like a waste of taxpayer money when fixing the root cause of the drug trade would be more effective.
1
Helvetimusic 4 days ago +1
Trump raped kids and bombs school children. Don't be distracted.
1
punkasstubabitch 6 days ago +1
More war crimes. Our biggest mistake in America will be letting this go without anyone being brought to proper justice. I've already told the democrat legistlators in my district that I will fight them every day and do everything I can to not let us forget these atrocities or we risk becoming a truly lawless nation even moreso than we are now.
1
Inevitable_Jaguar676 5 days ago +2
Pity more Americans don’t think like you. The apathy of the American public is mind boggling to the rest of the world.
2
punkasstubabitch 5 days ago +1
It's a result of the 24 hour cable news cycle which I personally hate and refuse to watch for the most part. There is always a new search for the next story to draw eyes and revenue so stories which are substantial get buried and lost. Politicans count on this in their strategy. Trump will sometimes say,"it's \[Esptein\] a dead story," but that one has managed to have a bit more staying power. For most Americans, things like war crimes in the Carribean are out of sight and out of mind.
1
Ekpe_004 6 days ago +1
Isn't this f****** up the ocean's ecosystem in the process??
1
whapitah2021 6 days ago +5
Why else would tuna and barracuda be so damn fast??? ❄️
5
condensermike 6 days ago
Back to that distraction I see.
0
Assine2 6 days ago
Distraction for Epstein files and Iran.
0
USDXBS 5 days ago
Is there a trustworthy, reliable source on this allegation?
0
MrPotluck 5 days ago +3
WHRO is already trustworthy and reliable. But here are two more: [Stars and Stripes](https://www.stripes.com/theaters/americas/2026-04-13/us-forces-strike-2-alleged-drug-boats-21362298.html) [The official SOUTHCOM on X](https://x.com/Southcom/status/2043477652573470959)
3
USDXBS 5 days ago
The article cites the US military as their source. Trumps military isn't a reliable, trustworthy source. Stars and Stripes is US military propaganda. US Southern Command isn't a reliable source. Nothing the US government or Trumps military says can be trusted. We need a trustworthy reliable source on what they say.
0
MrPotluck 5 days ago +4
I guess I was a little confused. It seems like you're asking what's the source for the allegation that these boats were drug boats. To that I say, there's no evidence for that allegation because they blew up the boats without an investigation. So, I think we're on the same page for the boat allegations, specifically. If the allegation is referring to the boats being blown up, then I don't know what would be considered trustworthy and reliable if a video that the military posted that shows the boats being blown up is not that.
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