• US military strikes a boat in the Eastern Pacific, allegedly tied to drug trafficking, killing four individuals.
• This marks the 26th strike since September, claiming nearly 100 lives linked to alleged narco-terrorism operations.
• The attack occurs amid a backdrop of congressional debate over President Trump's military authority regarding drug cartels.

The US military reported that it conducted a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific accused of drug trafficking, resulting in the deaths of four individuals. This action, described as a "lethal kinetic strike," was executed under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and was part of an ongoing campaign involving the military's Joint Task Force Southern Spear, aimed at addressing narco-trafficking along known routes in the region, according to South China Morning Post, India Times, and CBS News.

This military operation on Wednesday has increased the total number of boat strikes in the Eastern Pacific to 26 since September, with at least 99 individuals reportedly killed as a result of these actions. The strikes have drawn legal scrutiny, with some congressional members expressing concern regarding the lack of transparency and evidence related to the strikes, particularly following instances where follow-up strikes reportedly killed survivors clinging to wreckage, as reported by Al Jazeera and Anadolu Agency.

On the same day as the strike, the House of Representatives voted down measures that would have required President Trump to obtain congressional approval for further military actions against drug cartels. This rejection marks an increasing political divide regarding the military's role in combating drug trafficking and the administration's justification of an "armed conflict" with drug cartels linked to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, as indicated by South China Morning Post, India Times, and CBS News.