SOUTHCOM area of responsibility – On Oct. 17, 2025, President Donald Trump directed U.S. military forces assigned to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) to carry out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters.

The ship was being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization within the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.

Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling, moving along a known narco-trafficking route and carrying narcotics.

Three male narco-terrorists were killed in the strike, and no U.S. military forces were harmed.

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