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The U.S. military carried out a lethal strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Friday, killing two suspected narco-terrorists, according to U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM).

“On April 24, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the post continued. “Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action.”

No U.S. military forces were harmed.

ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED AS US FORCES STRIKE SUSPECTED DRUG-TRAFFICKING VESSEL IN CARIBBEAN

SOUTHCOM did not immediately provide additional details about the identities of those killed or the specific groups involved.

The U.S. military has carried out numerous strikes in recent months on suspected drug-smuggling vessels as part of a broader campaign to dismantle cartel-linked trafficking operations.

The strike comes less than a week after SOUTHCOM said it conducted a similar operation in the Caribbean, killing three suspected narco-terrorists.

US, ECUADOR LAUNCH JOINT OPERATIONS TARGETING NARCO-TERROR GROUPS: SOUTHCOM

Earlier this month, the military struck a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing four alleged narco-terrorists, SOUTHCOM said.

SOUTHCOM is responsible for military operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean, including counter-narcotics missions aimed at disrupting drug trafficking networks that threaten U.S. interests.

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The Eastern Pacific remains a key corridor for narcotics trafficking, with cartels often using small, fast-moving vessels to transport drugs toward the U.S. and Central America.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

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A driver who allegedly helped wreak havoc during a “reckless” drag-racing street takeover was paraded out of his apartment in handcuffs.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced the arrest of 22-year-old Asil Assaidi on Thursday. Assaidi was charged with reckless endangerment and riot following a series of “dangerous, fiery driving stunts” near two New York City gas stations on April 18.

“Too often there are no consequences in the criminal justice system for this type of outrageous behavior,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. “Clearly, it’s time for that to change.

“My hope and expectation is that Asil Assaidi will be held fully accountable for his actions,” she said.

NYPD INVESTIGATING ‘RECKLESS’ DRAG RACING STREET TAKEOVER IN QUEENS

Assaidi, who grinned widely as he was led out of an NYPD stationhouse on his way to court for his arraignment, did not have any prior arrests, police said. People believed to be his friends were also pictured as the suspect was captured leaving the station.

WATCH: Drag racing suspects cause chaos in NYC street takeover

The district attorney’s office said that Assaidi participated in a drag-racing street takeover involving more than 100 vehicles in Queens that triggered an NYPD investigation.

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The incident was reported shortly before 2 a.m. near Eliot Avenue and 69th Street, according to the NYPD. One of the participants waved a Palestinian flag out the car window while screeching around the intersection.

When officers arrived at the scene, they activated their lights and sirens to disperse the crowd. Dozens of vehicles then fled the area.

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Queens Criminal Court Judge Indira Khan ordered Assaidi to return to court May 14. If convicted of the top charge, Assaidi faces up to seven years in prison.

Authorities allege that Assaidi was operating a blue Infiniti G37 with a dark hood panel and missing front bumper during the street racing.

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Assaidi, they allege, drove the car in circles around the intersection, nearly colliding with several people standing nearby. Skid marks formed on the road surface and smoke and sparks were produced from the rear end of the car, police said.

An individual poured liquid onto the ground and ignited a ring of flames between Assaidi’s car and the crowd.

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The suspect, authorities allege, repeated the reckless driving with a second driver in a silver vehicle that included a second ring of flames in front of the crowd.

During the incident, a few people also allegedly jumped on the hood of an NYPD vehicle, causing damage and cracking the windshield before fleeing the scene in a black car.

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No injuries were reported in connection with the drag-racing incident.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the NYPD for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

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A former substitute teacher in Texas was arrested and charged with an “improper relationship” with a student, authorities said.

According to a Facebook post from the Llano County Sheriff’s Department, Angela Palmares, 27, was arrested after the Llano Independent School District notified authorities Tuesday of an alleged relationship between her and a student. The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Palmares is being held on a $150,000 bond, according to jail records.

The Llano Independent School District notified authorities of the alleged relationship, prompting the investigation.

NEW JERSEY TEACHER WHO SLEPT WITH STUDENTS AT FAMILY BAGEL SHOP LEARNS PRISON SENTENCE

Following the report, the teacher, who last worked for the district on April 2, was removed from the district’s list of available substitutes.

According to a letter the Llano Independent School District superintendent, Mac Edwards, sent to families, the former substitute engaged in “inappropriate communication with students, specifically through a social media platform outside of the school day.”

Edwards said in his letter to families that the district has been in contact with families of students who may have been affected.

IDAHO HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER UNDER INVESTIGATION AFTER ALLEGEDLY WISHING ‘UNWANTED PREGNANCY’ ON TRUMP SUPPORTER

“The district takes all allegations of this nature extremely seriously and remains committed to providing a safe and supportive environment to students,” he said. “At this time, we are unable to provide additional details due to personnel and student privacy considerations.”

Further details were not provided by the school district or the sheriff’s office.

The Llano County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division began investigating the allegations Wednesday, and after conducting interviews and reviewing evidence, the investigation led to an arrest warrant.

The Criminal Investigation Division, in collaboration with the Texas Department of Public Safety Fusion Center, located Palmares in Bell County.

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“Palmares has been charged with Improper Relationship between an Educator and a Student, a 2nd Degree Felony,” the Facebook post read.

The investigation remains ongoing as the sheriff’s office asks anyone who may be a victim or who has information related to the case to contact the Llano County Sheriff’s Office and request to speak with an investigator in the Criminal Investigation Division.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers have arrested a Somali illegal immigrant who authorities say is linked to a past piracy case and faces an outstanding warrant for passport fraud.

Said Jama Ahmed is being held in North Dakota on illegal entry charges after agents apprehended him near the U.S.-Canada border earlier this month.

Officials said his fingerprints match records collected during a 2012 U.S. Navy operation involving suspected Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden, according to a Friday announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Weak Biden Administration border policies allowed this illegal alien to enter and remain in the country despite his multiple law enforcement encounters,” DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement. 

TOM HOMAN: ‘NOT SURPRISED’ BY ‘POTENTIAL TERRORIST’ APPREHENDED AT US-MEXICO BORDER

According to DHS, Ahmed was first spotted on April 14 by an off-duty Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer walking southbound with a backpack a few miles north of the border.

About two hours later, a U.S. Border Patrol agent located Ahmed and took him into custody.

The fingerprint match ties Ahmed to a 2012 incident in which the USS Halsey, a Navy guided-missile destroyer, responded to a distress call from an Indian-flagged vessel hijacked by pirates, according to DHS.

CALIFORNIA ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH 49 PRIOR ARRESTS TOPS ICE’S LATEST ‘WORST-OF-THE-WORST’ LIST

A Navy boarding team encountered Ahmed and nine others who were allegedly armed and holding the ship hostage.

“A Visit, Board, Search and Seizure (VBSS) team conducted boarding operations and encountered Ahmed and nine other armed pirates who had taken the Indian ship hostage by force, where the Navy then logged Ahmed’s fingerprint,” DHS said.

Authorities say Ahmed entered the U.S. in September 2022 near San Luis, Arizona, and has had multiple prior encounters with law enforcement.

GUATEMALAN MAN CHARGED WITH CHILD PORN POSSESSION RELEASED BY FAIRFAX COUNTY DESPITE ICE DETAINER, DHS SAYS

In 2024, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained him during a search for fraudulent documents.

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A full extradition warrant was issued in April 2025, according to DHS.

“We are thankful for our hardworking U.S. CBP officers and Canadian officials for their cooperation in arresting this individual,” Bis added. “DHS will continue to work to arrest criminal illegal aliens to protect the American homeland from all threats.”

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A federal judge has sanctioned the law firm representing a woman in a lawsuit accusing billionaire Leon Black of sexual assault linked to the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, but stopped short of throwing the case out entirely.

In a 76-page opinion and order, U.S. District Judge Jessica Clarke found that attorney Jeanne Christensen and her firm, Wigdor LLP, engaged in “serious, sanctionable misconduct” during the litigation.

Clarke wrote that Christensen “lied repeatedly” to the court and opposing counsel about a related case and directed her client to delete a potentially relevant social media account.

“In light of the serious and varied misconduct … the Court strongly considered granting the case-terminating sanctions Defendant requests in this matter,” Clarke wrote. “However, the Court ultimately concludes that lesser sanctions can address the misconduct.”

HOWARD LUTNICK SHUTS DOWN DEM QUESTIONS OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN AT BUDGET HEARING

The lawsuit alleges that Black, co-founder of Apollo Global Management, raped a 16-year-old girl in New York City in 2002. The accuser, identified as “Jane Doe,” claims she was previously abused and groomed by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, who she says trafficked her to other men, including Black.

The judge also raised concerns about the plaintiff’s evidence, finding that some materials — including sonogram images contained in personal journals — had been falsified. Clarke did not rule on the underlying allegations but determined that certain supporting evidence could not be relied upon.

The plaintiff has alleged she was subjected to an “impregnation game” involving Epstein and others, claiming she was forced to carry pregnancies resulting from sexual abuse.

“According to Plaintiff, she was forced to carry out pregnancies that resulted from the men who sexually abused her, and Maxwell took photographs of Plaintiff’s body as it changed during her pregnancies,” Clarke wrote. “Plaintiff testified that all of the sonograms in the journals were hers from several abuse-related pregnancies, including some pregnancies that came to term and others that were terminated.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE CALLS BILLS GATES, LEON BLACK TO TESTIFY OVER JEFFREY EPSTEIN TIES

The judge ordered Christensen to file the misconduct ruling in all of her federal cases in the Second Circuit for the next year, and for five years in any case where sanctions are sought against her, her firm or her client. Wigdor LLP was also ordered to pay the defendant’s legal fees tied to the sanctions motion, and the plaintiff is barred from using journals containing falsified sonograms.

Wigdor LLP, which no longer represents the plaintiff, said it was “upset” by the sanctions but noted the case remains active, Politico reported.

“We are pleased that our former client will get her day in court,” firm founder Douglas Wigdor said in a statement.

Black’s attorney said the plaintiff’s credibility has been “destroyed” and called for the case to be withdrawn, urging authorities to investigate what she described as “fraud.”

EX-PRINCE ANDREW PHOTOGRAPHED KNEELING OVER WOMAN IN LATEST DOJ JEFFREY EPSTEIN FILE RELEASE

“Her credibility having been destroyed, Doe should withdraw her Complaint and apologize to Mr. Black for manufacturing false and defamatory claims. We urge the federal authorities to investigate this fraud on the Court,” Susan Estrich, attorney for Leon Black, said in a statement.”

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Black, who left Apollo Global Management in 2021, has denied wrongdoing.

He is also among several high-profile figures expected to testify before the House Oversight Committee next month about connections to Epstein and Maxwell.

Epstein died in jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges. Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence after being convicted in 2021 on sex-trafficking charges.

Wigdor LLP and Susan Estrich could not be immediately reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.