2 killed in US strike on ‘drug boat’ off Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA—A US strike on a boat suspected of transporting illegal drugs along Costa Rica’s Pacific coast left at least two people dead and one seriously injured, Costa Rican authorities said on Friday.
The attack on the alleged drug boat was reported by the US Southern Command on its X (formerly Twitter) account. It was the latest in a series of strikes by the United States on boats in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans suspected of transporting drugs.
Steven Umaña, regional operations coordinator for the Costa Rican Red Cross, said that at 8:15 a.m. on Friday, he received the alert from the Coast Guard about a shipwreck.
“Upon arrival, one person was found with severe burns and significant chest trauma and was transported in critical condition to the Golfito Hospital. In addition, two people were found with no vital signs,” Umaña said.
Such strikes have been sharply criticized by governments in the region as the Trump administration has taken a more aggressive approach toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including staging a military operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
