U.S. Strike on Suspected Drug Boat off Costa Rica Kills 2, Critically Injures 1

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A U.S. 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 Friday.

The attack on the alleged drug boat was reported by the U.S. Southern Command on its X account. It is the latest in a series of strikes by the U.S. targeting boats in the Pacific and Caribbean oceans suspected of drug trafficking.

Steven Umaña, regional operations coordinator for the Costa Rican Red Cross, said that at 8:15 a.m. Friday he received an 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 Golfito Hospital. Additionally, two people were found with no vital signs,” Umaña said.

Such strikes have faced sharp criticism from governments in the region, especially as the Trump administration has adopted a more aggressive stance toward Latin America and the Caribbean, including conducting a military operation to capture Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.

According to the SOUTHCOM report, on Thursday the U.S. carried out a “lethal kinetic strike” on a boat it said was operated by a criminal group designated by the U.S. as a foreign terrorist organization. A video posted by the administration shows the boat exploding.

“Intelligence confirmed that the low-profile vessel was transiting known drug trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was involved in drug trafficking operations,” the post stated.

Costa Rica’s National Coast Guard Operations Center reported receiving an alert about a shipwreck and dispatched a vessel 126 nautical miles from Golfito on the country’s southern Pacific coast to respond.

It was not immediately clear how many people were aboard the boat that was struck.

The Judicial Investigation Agency confirmed it received the bodies, which were handed over at sea by a U.S. Navy force to Costa Rica’s Coast Guard Service and, once at port, delivered to judicial authorities.