Eastern Pacific – On January 23, 2026, Joint Task Force Southern Spear carried out a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations, under the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

Intelligence confirmed the vessel was traveling along known narco-trafficking routes and actively engaged in illicit operations.

The strike resulted in the deaths of two narco-terrorists, while one individual survived.

Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard, which activated the Search and Rescue system to recover the survivor.