MIAMI, United States (CMC) — The Miami-based United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) says US forces have killed four suspected “narco-terrorists” during a targeted maritime strike in the Caribbean Sea.

According to SOUTHCOM, the operation was carried out under the direction of Commander Marine General Francis Donovan, with Joint Task Force Southern Spear executing what was described as a “lethal kinetic strike” against a vessel believed to be involved in drug trafficking. Intelligence reports indicated the vessel was operating along known narcotics routes. Four men were killed, and no US personnel were injured.

The latest operation brings the reported number of individuals killed in similar strikes across the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean to more than 163 since the policy was introduced under President Donald Trump in September.

However, the military campaign continues to face legal scrutiny.

In January, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit on behalf of relatives of two Trinidadian men killed in an October missile strike.

The men—Chad Joseph, 26, and Rishi Samaroo, 41—were among six people who died when their vessel was struck while reportedly travelling from Venezuela to Trinidad and Tobago.

The lawsuit, brought by family members including Joseph’s mother and Samaroo’s sister, alleges wrongful death and extrajudicial killing. It argues that the US government violated international law by using lethal force against civilians outside of an active war zone.

The case has been filed under the Death on the High Seas Act and the Alien Tort Statute.

Attorneys from the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and legal scholars contend the strikes are unlawful, stating that the United States is not engaged in a recognised armed conflict that would justify such actions.

They also argue that even in wartime, international law restricts the use of force against civilian targets.

Family members of the victims maintain that their relatives were not involved in criminal activity and should have been arrested and tried if suspected of wrongdoing.

The lawsuit seeks accountability and answers, as critics warn the operations risk undermining international legal norms and the rule of law.

The US government has not publicly commented on the specific allegations raised in the lawsuit, but has maintained that its operations target transnational criminal networks involved in narcotics trafficking.