US widens eastern Pacific strikes, kills two on narcotics-linked vessel

The US Southern Command says it killed two people and left one survivor in a strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific, marking the third attack in May against ships it says are linked to narco-trafficking. The Pentagon claims the vessel was operating along known drug-trafficking routes and tied to designated terrorist organizations, but provided no corroborating evidence. No US forces were harmed. Critics label the strikes extrajudicial killings and say there is no declared state of armed conflict to justify them; since the operation began in September, US officials say more than 170 people have been killed, though estimates vary.