The U.S. Coast Guard remains steadfast in its search for survivors following a dramatic incident on Tuesday that involved a strike on three vessels suspected of narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. These ships, reportedly operated by terrorist organizations, were intercepted while navigating international waters as a convoy.
According to reports, the vessels were engaged in transferring narcotics among themselves prior to the military intervention. The first vessel saw the loss of three individuals believed to be narco-terrorists, while crew members on the other two ships managed to abandon their vessels before subsequent strikes led to their sinking.
On Wednesday, USSOUTHCOM revealed the execution of another kinetic strike aimed at these alleged narco-terrorist operations, underscoring the ongoing efforts to combat illicit activities at sea.
The number of survivors who might have escaped from the sinking vessels remains uncertain. The U.S. Coast Guard is actively coordinating search operations after receiving word from the Department of War about individuals spotted in the water. This alert came at approximately 3 p.m. on Tuesday, concerning an area roughly 400 nautical miles southwest of the border between Mexico and Guatemala.
It is unclear how many survivors escaped the vessels.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson told Fox News officials began coordinating search efforts at about 3 p.m. Tuesday after receiving notification from the Department of War of people in the water approximately 400 nautical miles southwest of the Mexico and Guatemala border.
A Coast Guard HC-130J plane was deployed from Sacramento, Calif., to search for potential survivors. (U.S. Coast Guard)
A HC-130J aircraft was deployed from Sacramento, California, to search an area covering more than 1,000 nautical miles and issued an urgent marine information broadcast to mariners in the area, according to the spokesperson.
Video shows a kinetic strike on a narco-terror vessel in international waters Wednesday. (U.S. Southern Command via X)
As of Friday, the Coast Guard has coordinated more than 65 hours of search efforts, including working with partner nations and commercial fishing and Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system vessels.
On Wednesday, five suspected narco-terrorists were killed in a U.S. military strike against two vessels allegedly operated by designated terrorist organizations involved in narcotics trafficking.
Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this story.
