The Royal Saint Lucia Police Force says it has found no evidence linking the disappearance of local fishermen to a deadly United States military strike against a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean.
A report from U.S. Southern Command confirmed on February 17, 2026, the U.S. launched a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel operated by, quote, designated terrorist organizations along an alleged narco-trafficking route in the Caribbean. According to SOUTHCOM Commander General Francis L. Donovan, the targeted action killed three suspected narco-terrorists.
Police Commissioner Verne Garde, in a press engagement this week, said investigations into the missing fishermen and vessel remain ongoing, but authorities have not established a connection between the two incidents.
“What I can tell you is that the Royal St. Vincent Police Force did report on an activity in their waters,” Garde said.
“What we are investigating is a missing vessel, missing persons. We have not had anything to tie the two events together at this point.”
Superintendent of Police Stephen Victorin, who is responsible for the Southern Division, said investigators have interviewed individuals as part of their efforts to establish what happened to the missing fishermen.
“The interviews have been conducted that the individuals left prior to the time of that incident occurring,” Victorin said.
He acknowledged that the timing of the fishermen’s departure could potentially be significant.
“It is suggestive that they may have been on that vessel, but at this point the investigation is still ongoing,” he said.
Police have therefore stopped short of concluding that the missing Saint Lucians were aboard the vessel targeted in the US operation.
The force’s comments come as questions continue to circulate about what happened to the fishermen and whether their disappearance could be connected to the regional maritime incident.