{"id":5948,"date":"2025-12-19T08:28:47","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T08:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5948"},"modified":"2025-12-19T08:28:47","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T08:28:47","slug":"five-killed-as-us-military-destroys-two-more-vessels-in-pacific-ocean-donald-trump-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=5948","title":{"rendered":"Five killed as US military destroys two more vessels in Pacific Ocean | Donald Trump News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>US military says \u2018lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels\u2019 killed three people in one craft and two in another.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 19 Dec 2025<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">19 Dec 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>United States forces have killed five more people on board vessels in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration\u2019s military campaign against alleged seaborne drug traffickers to at least 104 since September.<\/p>\n<p>The US military\u2019s Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said on Friday that it carried out \u201clethal kinetic strikes on two vessels\u201d in the eastern Pacific at the instruction of Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, killing three people in one vessel and two in another.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 4 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s attack by US forces comes one day after a strike on another vessel, also in international waters in the eastern Pacific, which killed four people, SOUTHCOM said.<\/p>\n<p>While the US military said the nine victims of the attacks over two days were \u201cmale narco-terrorists\u201d, Washington has provided no proof that the almost 30 vessels destroyed since September in the Pacific and Caribbean, resulting in more than 100 dead, were involved in drug trafficking.<\/p>\n<p>Defence Secretary Hegseth is also under intense scrutiny for reportedly ordering a second strike on survivors who clung to floating boat debris after an earlier attack on a vessel \u2013 attacking shipwreck survivors is considered a war crime, according to legal experts.<\/p>\n<p>Latin American leaders and law experts have branded the US attacks \u201cextrajudicial killings\u201d while Trump has sought to justify the killings as necessary to halt drug trafficking into the US from Latin American drug cartels, particularly those based in Venezuela.<\/p>\n<p>Trump has also ordered a huge military deployment to Latin America and has threatened to remove Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from power, accusing him of overseeing a drug trafficking cartel.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, Trump raised the stakes by ordering a \u201ctotal\u201d naval blockade of all oil tankers \u2013 that are under US sanctions \u2013 from entering or leaving Venezuelan ports, a move designed to restrict the country\u2019s oil resources and hobble the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Maduro has blasted Washington\u2019s military mobilisation and accused Trump of using the pretext of fighting drug trafficking as a cover for \u201cregime change\u201d in Venezuela and stealing the country\u2019s oil reserves.<\/p>\n<p>Brazil\u2019s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Thursday that he was willing to mediate between the US and Venezuela to \u201cavoid armed conflict\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Mexico\u2019s President Claudia Sheinbaum also offered to act as a mediator to find \u201ca peaceful solution so that there is no US intervention\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Lula, one of Latin America\u2019s most influential leaders, told reporters that Brazil was \u201cvery worried\u201d about the mounting crisis between Washington and Caracas.<\/p>\n<p>Lula said he told Trump that \u201cthings wouldn\u2019t be resolved by shooting, that it was better to sit down around a table to find a solution\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am at the disposal of both Venezuela and the US to contribute to a peaceful solution on our continent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Lula also said he was concerned about what was behind the US campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt can\u2019t just be about overthrowing Maduro. What are the other interests that we don\u2019t yet know about?\u201d he said, adding he did not know if it was about Venezuela\u2019s oil, critical minerals or rare earths.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNobody ever says concretely why this war is necessary,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>According to The Associated Press news agency, about 15,000 US personnel are now taking part in the US operation, the largest military buildup in Latin America in generations, as well as 11 warships \u2013 including the US\u2019s largest aircraft carrier \u2013 and a squadron of advanced US Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets alongside other planes and drones.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>US military says \u2018lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels\u2019 killed three people in one craft and two in another. Published On 19 Dec 202519 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States forces have killed five more people on board vessels in the Pacific Ocean, bringing the death toll from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5948","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latin-america-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}