2 killed in new Eastern Pacific boat strike, SOUTHCOM says
(NEW YORK) — U.S. Southern Command announced on Monday that its forces conducted a new airstrike against an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing two people aboard and leaving one survivor.
SOUTHCOM said in a statement posted to X that it “immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor.”
The statement was accompanied by video of the strike.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM said, noting that the strike was launched at the direction of commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.
Monday’s operation is the 38th airstrike conducted by U.S. forces since Sept. 2. The killings bring to 130 the number of people killed in these strikes.
A view of the site where Mexican Army troops killed Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as ‘El Mencho,’ leader of the Cartel Jalisco Nueva Generacion (Jalisco New Generation), during a federal operation in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico on February 22, 2026. (Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Airport operations are gradually returning to normal in Mexico after violence ignited in the country following the killing of the drug lord known as “El Mencho,” President Claudia Sheinbaum said at a press conference Tuesday.
Sheinbaum said there were “seven roadblocks” in Mexico Tuesday morning, but “all of them” have now been cleared. Flights have resumed at Guadalajara Airport, and operations are “gradually returning” at Puerto Vallarta airport, she added.
School was suspended in Jalisco and Michoacan on Tuesday, but “activities are expected to return to normal tomorrow,” Sheinbaum added.
Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was killed in an operation led by Mexican authorities on Sunday in Jalisco, Mexican officials said.
Widespread cartel-organized violence erupted following his death, with vehicles set on fire, hundreds of road blockages and attacks on gas stations and businesses, according to Mexican authorities.
Mexico’s security strategy “has not changed,” after the operation, emphasizing that law enforcement were attempting to arrested an individual with an outstanding warrant, Sheinbaum said Tuesday.
“Members of the Army were attacked and responded. He later died while being transferred. But we will never act outside the law. That is very important. Here, the objective was never to kill anyone,” Sheinbaum said.
“Yes, this was a very significant member of organized crime, but the strategy has not changed. The strategy remains the same and is grounded in our laws and our Constitution,” she added.
Sheinbaum said that as of Monday morning, there are no longer any blockades and “normal activity has largely been restored.”
Oseguera Cervantes was one of the most wanted criminals in both Mexico and the United States. He was one of the top traffickers of fentanyl into the U.S., and last year President Donald Trump designated the Jalisco New Generation Cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the White House said.
When Mexican forces moved in to arrest him on Sunday, “El Mencho’s security detail opened fire,” Mexico’s Secretary of National Defense Ricardo Trevilla Trejo said Monday.
El Mencho “fled the location, leaving behind a group heavily armed,” Trevilla said. “The attack by organized crime members was extremely violent.”
Mexican special forces members continued to pursue El Mencho and eventually were able to injure him and two of the bodyguards with him, according to Trevilla.
El Mencho and the two bodyguards died during the helicopter evacuation flight that was heading towards a medical facility in Jalisco, Trevilla added.
Ultimately, 25 members of the Mexican National Guard and 30 cartel members were killed in Jalisco, Mexican officials said. Four cartel members were also killed in Michoacan, officials said.
Among those killed was a “principal confidant” of El Mencho in Jalisco who was “coordinating road blockades, vehicle burnings, and attacks on military and government facilities,” Trevilla said.
Seventy cartel members have been detained across seven states, Mexican officials said Monday.
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico on Monday continued to urge Americans in locations throughout Mexico to shelter in place due to “ongoing security operations and related road blockages and criminal activity.”
“While no airports have been closed, roadblocks have impacted airline operations, with most domestic and international flights cancelled in both Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta,” the U.S. Embassy said in a security alert. “All ride shares are suspended in Puerto Vallarta. Some businesses have suspended operations.”
Emergency services work at the site of a train collision on January 19, 2026 after yesterday’s train collision in Adamuz, Spain. Authorities say at least 39 were killed and more than 150 were injured when a train collided with a derailed train on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 18. (Photo by Pablo Blazquez Dominguez/Getty Images)
(ADAMUZ, Spain) — At least 39 people were killed and about 152 others were injured after two high-speed trains collided in southern Spain on Sunday, according to officials.
A train traveling from Málaga to Madrid derailed near Adamuz, crossing over to the adjacent track where it hit another train coming from Madrid to Huelva, according to the Spanish Interior Minister.
The number of confirmed dead rose to 39 from the previously reported 21 and was “not final,” Oscar Puente, the Spanish transport minister, said in a statement early on Monday.
“I want to express all my gratitude for the huge effort of the rescue teams during the night, under very difficult circumstances, and my condolences to the victims and their families in these terribly painful moments,” he said in Spanish on social media.
Spain’s prime minister is expected to visit the crash site this morning.
Officials had earlier said that of those injured, 75 were hospitalized, with 15 in very serious condition and five in life-threatening condition.
Rescue crews are on the scene, and all trains between Madrid and the Andalusia region are suspended, according to officials.
The cause of the train derailment has not yet been released.
Iryo, the company operating the train that initially derailed, released a statement, saying the company “deeply regrets what has happened and has activated all emergency protocols, working closely with the competent authorities to manage the situation.”
The company said there were 300 passengers on the train at the time.
Puente, the transport minister, spoke to reporters late Sunday night and the high-speed Iryo train was “relatively new.”
Puente said the derailment of the Iryo train bound for Madrid and its subsequent collision with the second train happened on a straight stretch of track, which had undergone extensive renovation work that was only finished in May.
The Spanish minister called the accident “extremely strange.”
“It’s very difficult at this moment to explain,” Puente added, and said he hoped the investigation would help clear up what has happened.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
A map shows the Strait of Hormuz on a laptop computer screen in this photo illustration in Athens, Greece, on March 3, 2026. (Photo by Nikolas Kokovlis/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(STRAIT OF HORMUZ) — The conflict in the Strait of Hormuz intensified on Wednesday as the Iranian navy confirmed it targeted at least two of three ships struck by projectiles in the critical passage for the oil and shipping trades, and President Donald Trump said the U.S. military destroyed several “inactive” mine-laying boats in the strait.
The increased military activity in the Strait of Hormuz came just three days after President Donald Trump warned Iran in a post on his social media site that if it attempts to “stop the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far.”
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced that its navy conducted strikes on two commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday morning.
An IRGC spokesperson said in a statement that its navy struck the ships Express Room and the Mayuree Naree because both commercial vessels were allegedly “ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy.”
“Every vessel intending to pass must obtain permission from Iran,” IRGC naval commander Adm. Alireza Tangsiri said in a social media post on Wednesday.
The Express Room, a container ship sailing under the Liberian flag, was struck by Iranian projectiles after allegedly “ignoring warnings from the IRGC Navy and came to a halt in its position,” the IRGC spokesperson said.
The Thai-flagged container ship Mayuree Naree was targeted for allegedly “ignoring alerts and warnings from the IRGC Navy and unlawfully insisting on transiting the Strait of Hormuz, according to the IRGC spokesperson.
Thai officials reported that three crew members were missing from the vessel following the attack.
“The Strait of Hormuz is, without a doubt and without a moment’s neglect, under the intelligent management of the brave naval forces of the IRGC. American aggressors and their allies have no right of passage,” the Iranian spokesperson said.
Earlier Wednesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) said it had received reports that three ships came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz. It did not identify the vessels, nor did it say at the time who was responsible for the attacks.
The UKMTO said one container ship was struck about 11 nautical miles north of Oman, in the passage that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
“The vessel has requested assistance and the crew are evacuated,” the UKMTO said.
The other two container ships, according to the UKMTO, were also struck by projectiles early Wednesday. One was hit about 25 nautical miles northwest of the United Arab Emirates port city of Ras Al Khaimah, while the other was stuck northwest of Dubai, according to the UKMTO.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released videos overnight showing attacks being carried out on Tuesday on what it described as “multiple Iranian naval vessels, March 10, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz.”
“To date, we have struck more than 5,500 targets inside Iran, including more than 60 ships, using a variety of precision weapons systems,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video post Wednesday.
While taking questions from reporters on Wednesday on the South Lawn of the White House before heading to an event in Kentucky, Trump said, “Look, we took out just about all of their mine ships in one night.”
“We’ve knocked out their navy. We’ve knocked out their air force. We’ve knocked out all of their air defense,” Trump also said.
When asked by a reporter if he’s encouraging CEOs of various oil companies to use the Strait of Hormuz, Trump responded, “Yeah, I think they should. I think they should use the Strait.”
Asked if there are any mines laid in the Strait of Hormuz, the president said, “We don’t think so.”
In a social media post on Tuesday, Trump said, “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
“If for any reason mines were placed, and they are not removed forthwith, the Military consequences to Iran will be at a level never seen before,” Trump said in the post.
CENTCOM issued a warning to Iranian civilians on Wednesday to avoid all port facilities where it said Iranian naval forces are carrying out military operations along the Strait of Hormuz. CENTCOM said Iranian dockworkers, administrative personnel and crews of commercial vessels “should avoid Iranian naval vessels and military equipment.
“The Iranian regime is using civilian ports along the Strait of Hormuz to conduct military operations that threaten international shipping. This dangerous action risks the lives of innocent people,” CENTCOM said in its warning.
A spokesperson for Iran’s armed forces said Wednesday that if Iran’s ports are threatened, “all ports and docks in the region will be our legitimate targets.”
In an interview with the Iranian state television, Gen. Abolfazl Shekarchi denied claims that the country’s naval forces are hiding in economic ports, and threatened heavier operations if Iran’s ports are targeted.
The chaos unfolding across the global economy stems in large part from the narrow but crucial waterway along the southern coast of Iran, which connects the Gulf of Oman to the Persian Gulf.
The Strait of Hormuz facilitates the transport of about one-fifth of the global supply of crude oil and liquid natural gas. Those products hold major implications for the prices of gasoline, plastics and European electricity, among a host of other goods.
The passage, which at its narrowest point is just 21 miles wide, is the only shipping route that stretches from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, making it a key travel hub for goods originating in oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.
Wednesday morning, the International Energy Agency said it would release 400 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve, marking the largest oil release in the group’s history as the global economy grapples with soaring oil prices in the wake of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and traders fear a prolonged blockade of the maritime passage.
Before the war, roughly 20 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait or Hormuz each day, but tanker traffic has now “all but stopped,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
