• US Coast Guard suspends search for survivors of drug-smuggling boats attacked by military strikes.
• The operation covered over 1,000 square miles but found no signs of life.
• At least three people were confirmed dead in the initial military action.
• The military's actions have come under scrutiny for potential violations of international law.
• Strikes are part of a broader campaign against Venezuelan drug cartels.

The U.S. Coast Guard announced it has suspended ongoing search efforts for individuals who jumped overboard from alleged drug-trafficking boats during military strikes in the eastern Pacific. The search, conducted approximately 400 nautical miles from the Mexico-Guatemala border, lasted over **65 hours** but yielded no sightings of survivors, according to an official statement from the Coast Guard HuffPost, CBS News, and Al Jazeera.

The U.S. military conducted airstrikes against three boats believed to be part of a drug-trafficking operation, killing at least three people when the first boat was struck. Survivors from the other two vessels reportedly abandoned ship as the strikes commenced, necessitating a rapid response from the Coast Guard HuffPost, CBS News, and Al Jazeera.

Conditions during the search included severe weather, with **nine-foot seas** and **40-knot winds**, further complicating rescue efforts. According to Coast Guard Captain Patrick Dill, the likelihood of finding survivors was deemed very low due to the elapsed time and harsh environmental conditions CBS News and Al Jazeera.

The military's strikes against these vessels are part of a campaign against drug cartels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, with the Trump administration asserting that these operations are necessary for national security. Critics, including international law experts and human rights observers, have raised concerns about the legality of these strikes, citing potential violations of due process and engagement rules HuffPost, CBS News, and Al Jazeera.

Additionally, the administration reports that these strikes have resulted in the deaths of at least **115 people** since early September as part of the broader operations against alleged narco-traffickers, amidst accusations of collaboration between the Venezuelan government and drug cartels HuffPost, CBS News, and Al Jazeera.