U.S. Southern Command forces struck a boat allegedly carrying illicit narcotics on Jan. 23, killing two in this first strike of 2026, the first since the Jan. 3 U.S. kidnapping of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, reported US Naval Institute News. The strike, announced via a post on social media site X, killed two people on the boat. A third person survived. SouthCom contacted the U.S. Coast Guard to begin search and rescue operations for the survivor. Neither SouthCom nor the Coast Guard has released updates.