Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that a naval search had failed to locate the sole survivor of US strikes on four suspected drug-smuggling boats.
“They didn’t manage to rescue him,” she said during her regular morning press conference.
The US Coast Guard had requested Mexico’s assistance in rescuing the survivor following Monday’s attacks, which occurred more than 400 nautical miles (740 kilometres) from the port of Acapulco and left 14 people dead.
The strikes have raised the death toll to at least 57 in Washington’s controversial campaign against suspected Latin American drug boats operating in international waters. At least 14 vessels have been destroyed so far, but this week’s incidents marked the first attacks close to Mexican waters.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth described those killed as “narcoterrorists” but did not disclose their nationalities or provide evidence of criminal activity.
President Sheinbaum said she was pressing Donald Trump’s administration to agree on a formal protocol for handling suspected drug boats in international waters — one that would allow for the detention of suspects rather than the immediate use of military force.
“There could be a Mexican citizen, regardless of whether they are a criminal or not, on one of these vessels,” she cautioned.
Trump’s campaign has previously targeted Venezuela, accusing President Nicolás Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organisation — a claim for which no evidence has been presented. Maduro, in turn, has accused Washington of attempting to overthrow him.