JTF Southern Spear killed five across two suspected narcotics vessels in eastern Pacific; 48th-49th strikes, ~168 campaign deaths
On Saturday, April 11, 2026, U.S. Southern Command's Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out two lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels it described as drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five men and leaving one survivor of the first strike. SOUTHCOM said it notified the U.S. Coast Guard to launch a search-and-rescue effort for the survivor. The same-day double strike — reported as the campaign's 48th and 49th — brought Operation Southern Spear's cumulative reported death toll to at least 168, and as in prior strikes the military provided no evidence that the vessels were carrying drugs.