U.S. strike on alleged drug boat kills 2 in Pacific

June 4, 2026

1–2 minutes

Summary

A U.S. strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific killed two men as scrutiny of the military’s anti-trafficking campaign continued.

Why this matters

The story highlights growing scrutiny of the Trump administration’s use of military force in anti-drug operations and questions about the legal basis and effectiveness of those strikes. It also underscores a broader debate over how the United States addresses fentanyl trafficking and overdose deaths.

The U.S. military attacked a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing two men, as the Trump administration continued a monthslong campaign against what it calls “narcoterrorists” in Latin America.

As in most military statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, U.S. Southern Command said the vessel was targeted along known smuggling routes. A video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before catching fire.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has described the strikes as a necessary escalation to curb drug flows into the United States and fatal overdoses.

Critics have questioned the legality and effectiveness of the boat strikes, noting that fentanyl linked to many overdose deaths typically enters the United States over land from Mexico, where it is made with chemicals imported from China and India.

The strikes have drawn scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars. The first strike in early September prompted particular concern.

The Pentagon’s inspector general said in May that it planned to review whether the military followed an established targeting framework in carrying out the strikes. The office said the review would focus on the six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle, not on the legality of the strikes.

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The Carolina Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup on Sunday night, beating the Vegas Golden Knights in six games to secure the franchise’s second championship and first since the 2005-06 season.

Nikolaj Ehlers’ empty-net goal with 1:08 left in the third period gave Carolina a 3-0 lead and sealed the Game 6 victory in Las Vegas.

Carolina rallied from a four-goal deficit in Game 1 before losing in double overtime. The Hurricanes responded in Game 2, when Seth Jarvis scored the overtime winner for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final game victory in 20 years.

After the teams split the first four games, Carolina moved ahead in Game 5 at Lenovo Center. Jordan Staal, Andrei Svechnikov, and Sebastian Aho scored as the Hurricanes erased an early deficit and beat Vegas 4-2 to move within one win of the title.

That set up Sunday’s clinching win.

As the final seconds expired, Hurricanes players went onto the ice to celebrate. The championship returned the Stanley Cup to North Carolina after a 20-year wait for the franchise’s fans.

The title followed multiple deep playoff runs under coach Rod Brind’Amour.
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A Jacksonville man faces multiple charges after police said he led officers on a pursuit that reached 100 mph before entering a home and trying to avoid arrest.

According to arrest records, Johnson Ly, 20, was arrested Saturday, June 13, by the Jacksonville Police Department. He was charged with felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, failure to heed a light or siren, reckless driving to endanger, resisting a public officer, speeding, expired registration, and expired or no vehicle inspection.

Charging documents said the incident began at Gum Branch Road and Onsville Road, where Ly allegedly did not stop for an officer who was trying to conduct a traffic stop.

Investigators alleged Ly drove away, reaching speeds of 70 to 100 mph in 35- and 45-mph zones. Court records said he did not stop despite emergency lights and sirens and drove in a way that endangered people and property.

After the pursuit ended, authorities alleged Ly entered a house, opened the door, and then tried to deny driving the vehicle before officers took him into custody.

Ly was taken to the Onslow County Detention Center and was held without bond.
Latin America

UN says 2,300 killed in Haiti gang violence this year

Haiti, a Caribbean nation of 12 million people and the poorest country in the Americas, has faced years of instability, with gangs carrying out killings, rapes, looting, and kidnappings.

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UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Monday that gang violence in Haiti had killed at least 2,300 people, injured 1,100, and led to 99 kidnappings since the start of the year.

“In Haiti, gang violence has resulted in at least 2,300 deaths, 1,100 injuries and 99 kidnappings since the start of the year,” Turk said at the opening of the 62nd session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

He called on Haitian authorities to address impunity through judicial measures.

“I urge the authorities to move quickly on the judicial units to tackle impunity.

“The Gang Suppression Force (GSF) is urgently needed and needs to operate in line with international human rights law,” the UN high commissioner for human rights said.

The UN Security Council approved the new international Gang Suppression Force last year to neutralize gangs. It will gradually replace the Multinational Mission to Support the Haitian Police.

The council approved the force at the urging of the United States last September amid concerns that the earlier mission was under-equipped and underfunded.

An initial deployment plan has been approved, within the Security Council’s authorized ceiling of 5,500 troops and police officers. Deployments are set to take place in phases.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will visit Haiti on Tuesday in what his spokesman, Farhan Haq, described last week as “a solidarity visit, during which he will meet men, women and children whose lives have been affected by violence.”
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2 arrested after Camp Pendleton breach, drug seizure

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Two suspects were arrested after entering Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California during a police pursuit and abandoning a vehicle carrying more than 112 pounds of cocaine and fentanyl, authorities said.

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U.K. seizes Russia-linked tanker in English Channel

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British forces seized a Russia-linked oil tanker in the English Channel early Sunday, according to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the U.K. Ministry of Defence.

Starmer said on X that the operation targeted a vessel from Russia’s “shadow fleet,” a term used for ships believed to help move Russian oil despite sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence said Royal Marine commandos and National Crime Agency officials boarded the Smyrtos, which was sailing under a Cameroon flag, with support from Chinook helicopters, other aircraft, a frigate, and a minehunter. The operation lasted six hours, the ministry said.

“This successful operation ⁠⁠delivers yet another ⁠⁠blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling ⁠[Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war in ⁠⁠Ukraine that ⁠⁠we will not let them hide,” Starmer said.

“Operations like this require skill, professionalism and courage. I pay tribute to our Armed Forces personnel and all those involved,” Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said in a statement.

“Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund its conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war.”

The ministry said the vessel would be “provisionally moved to an anchorage off the South Coast of England and will be monitored for any environmental or safety concerns.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Starmer and the British people on X for their “principled resolve.”

“It was Russia’s hubris, fueled by high oil and gas revenues, that paved the way for this war, and every decision by partners that deprives Russia of money also limits the war itself,” Zelenskyy wrote.

“Europe urgently needs to take legislative steps to enable not only the detention of tankers and restrictions on oil shipments, but also the confiscation of the oil they carry.”

According to MarineTraffic, the Smyrtos left the Russian Baltic port of Ust-Luga on June 5 and was bound for Port Said, Egypt.

In January, French forces impounded another suspected Russian tanker, the Grinch. In March, the Deyna, which sailed from Murmansk under a Mozambican flag, was detained in Marseille.

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Beaufort County Council voted 7-3 this month to ban plastic bags and polystyrene containers used by local businesses.

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The ordinance cited environmental and infrastructure concerns. According to the measure, plastic products add to landfill waste, harm wildlife, damage recycling machinery when placed in curbside bins, and can clog stormwater systems, contributing to flooding during heavy rain.

The county banned single-use plastic bags in 2018, but the ordinance said reusable plastic bags have had similar effects. It said bags marketed as reusable are often thicker than single-use bags. Council said the measure is intended to phase out plastic products in favor of compostable and recyclable alternatives.

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said Friday it fired 70 staff members in Gaza, citing security concerns, while saying the move was not an admission of guilt.

“Today, the Commissioner-General ad interim of UNRWA, Christian Saunders, took the decision to terminate the employment of 70 UNRWA staff members in Gaza with immediate effect,” the agency said in a statement.

UNRWA said it acted “to mitigate safety and security risks for the refugees the Agency serves under its mandate and for UNRWA personnel and premises.” It added that the dismissals “are not part of a disciplinary process and does not constitute in any way a validation of the claims made against them.”

The agency said it had “repeatedly asked the Israeli authorities to provide information and evidence to substantiate allegations against individual UNRWA staff members in Gaza but has received no response to date.”

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U.S. stock futures rose Monday after news of a ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran at the start of a holiday-shortened trading week.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed about 1%, while S&P 500 futures rose 1.2%. Nasdaq 100 futures led the gains, up 1.9%, after Wall Street stocks advanced Friday.

Late Sunday, the U.S. said it had reached a ceasefire deal with Iran. President Donald Trump called the agreement “complete” in a post on Truth Social. Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, whose country brokered the deal, said a formal signing ceremony was expected Friday in Switzerland.

Iran signaled that talks on a final peace deal would begin within 60 days. Questions remained about the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Experts said the package could include reconstruction funding, an unfreezing of assets, and eased oil sanctions.

Trump said the Strait of Hormuz would reopen for mine removal after Friday’s signing of the interim pact, restoring traffic on a key oil-shipping route.
US

12 killed in Missouri skydiving plane crash

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Twelve people died after a skydiving plane crashed in Missouri on June 14, according to Bates County Emergency Management.

Dennis Jacobs, director of Bates County Emergency Management, told USA TODAY that 11 people aboard the plane were skydivers and one was the pilot. The Federal Aviation Administration identified the aircraft as a Pacific Aerospace P750.

The plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Butler Memorial Airport in Butler, Missouri, about 65 miles south of Kansas City. Jacobs, who is also the airport manager, said it was the deadliest crash in the airport’s roughly 50-year history.

Of the 11 skydivers, nine were experienced and two were participating in tandem jumps, Jacobs said. He said multiple witnesses saw the crash, including relatives of some of those aboard.

“One lady that was there was watching her brother (on the plane), and his wife was there, too, and she was supposed to be on the plane with them,” Jacobs said, adding that the wife was a regular diver who got bumped by a tandem jumper.

The private plane, operated by Skydive Kansas City, departed from Butler Memorial Airport and “turned around for an unknown reason” before crashing near a local highway at about 11:20 a.m. local time, according to Bates County Emergency Management.

The agency said Skydive Kansas City flew numerous trips over the weekend.

“They weren’t able to get over 100 feet off the ground,” Jacobs said. “It very likely will be an engine problem, but we won’t know until the NTSB report,” he added, referring to the National Transportation Safety Board.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said troopers were assisting the Butler Police Department and the Bates County Sheriff’s Office at the scene. Emergency crews and law enforcement, including the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, were searching the area.

Bates County Emergency Management said no survivors were found along the flight path. The investigation was expected to last several days, the agency said.