WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military launched another strike Tuesday on a vessel suspected of transporting drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one man and leaving two survivors.
Video posted on social media by U.S. Southern Command shows a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames. Southern Command said it “immediately notified the U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors.”
The Trump administration’s campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since early September and killed at least 194 people in total. The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.
The Pentagon watchdog said last week that it will evaluate whether the U.S. military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats. The six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle include a military commander’s intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment.
The Pentagon inspector general’s office said the review was “self-initiated.” It will not probe the legality of the strikes, which have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars.
The Trump administration says the U.S. is at war against the Latin American drug cartels, which it says are responsible for the scourge of fatal drug overdoses plaguing many American communities.
The Pentagon is seen, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
PLANO, Texas (AP) — Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, easily defeating four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the latest contest where President Donald Trump sought to oust an incumbent he saw as not sufficiently loyal.
Trump endorsed Paxton last week, calling him a “true MAGA warrior.” Paxton's victory in Tuesday’s runoff makes Cornyn the first Republican senator from Texas to lose the party’s nomination for reelection.
Cheers rang through the ballroom at Paxton's election night party when the race was called, as the stage filled with supporters holding Paxton campaign signs.
Paxton took the stage to chants of “Ken, Ken, Ken," and he quickly gave credit to Trump.
“When everyone in Washington told him to abandon me and abandon the people of Texas, he didn’t listen," Paxton said. "President Trump is the leader of our party, and his endorsement is the most powerful force in politics.”
At Cornyn's watch party, the senator said he will support Paxton in the general election.
“Tonight we’ve come up short,” Cornyn said. “A few years ago, I had a friend of mine say, ‘You know what makes God laugh?’ He said, ‘When we make plans.’”
“I’ve always supported the Republican ticket,” he said, “and I intend to do so again.”
Cornyn's loss followed primaries this month where Trump successfully backed challengers defeated in Louisiana, Kentucky and Indiana, a sign of his enduring influence among primary voters. He has sought to punish Republicans he feels aren't supportive enough of his agenda.
Cornyn said in 2023 as Trump was running to return to the White House that his time “has passed him by." He also was an early critic of Trump’s plan for a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico — a project he now supports.
Cornyn’s campaign and allied groups spent roughly $109 million on advertising for the March 3 primary and Tuesday's runoff. He had the backing of Senate GOP leaders who said he would be the stronger general election candidate.
Paxton will run against state Rep. James Talarico in November.
Tuesday's runoffs also will decide Democratic U.S. House nominees for districts in Dallas and Houston that overwhelmingly support Democrats, and a San Antonio-area seat the party wants to flip.
Cornyn led Paxton in the March primary but failed to win a majority. That was after Cornyn and his supporters waged a monthslong ad campaign, mostly attacking Paxton over ethical and personal questions. The two-term attorney general was acquitted on corruption charges in a 2023 impeachment trial, where allegations of extramarital affairs surfaced. Paxton’s wife filed for divorce last year, citing “biblical grounds.”
The alliance of pro-Cornyn groups continued its attack, outspending Paxton's campaign and two allied super PACs $16.5 million to $5.9 million since March 3, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
Trump promised to endorse immediately after the primary but didn’t act until after early voting began last week.
“Ken Paxton has gone through a lot, in many cases, very unfairly, but he is a Fighter, and knows how to win,” Trump wrote in a social media post endorsing him.
David Jacobson, a retired 70-year-old Dallas-area resident, said Trump's endorsement was a factor in his decision to back Paxton on Tuesday. While Cornyn has for the most part been a strong Trump supporter, Jacobson generally thinks most politicians have remained in office too long.
“Maybe it’s time for a change,” he said after voting near Dallas.
Linda Williams said she voted for Cornyn, calling him “the lesser of two evils.” She thinks Cornyn has a better chance to beat Talarico this fall.
“Because Paxton is a crook," Williams said after voting in Plano, outside Dallas.
Trump, in his endorsement, poked at Cornyn, saying he “was not supportive of me when times were tough” and that “John was very late in backing me.”
Cornyn said Tuesday on Fox News Radio's “The Brian Kilmeade Show” that the president's ire was misplaced. There are “grifters," he said, "claiming that I am opposed to the president's agenda, and I think that’s caused some confusion with the president himself. But I’ve been supportive.”
Some GOP strategists have argued that a Paxton nomination would cost millions of dollars more to promote in the fall, when money could be spent defending Republican seats in more competitive states. Democrats need to gain a net of four seats to take the majority. Cornyn had the support of Senate GOP leaders.
Newly elected Rep. Christian Menefee defeated veteran Rep. Al Green in Texas' 18th District, dispatching a longtime House incumbent who was one of Trump's most outspoken critics. The Republican-led Texas Legislature redrew the district when it approved a new House map last year. The new map led to a runoff between incumbents and marks the end of a dizzying series of elections in the Houston area.
Former Rep. Colin Allred and U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson are competing in the Dallas-area 33rd District. Johnson was elected to the seat in 2024, the year Allred lost his U.S. Senate challenge to Republican Sen. Ted Cruz. Allred was running for Senate again this cycle but dropped his bid and instead is looking to return to the House.
Near San Antonio, Democratic leaders are trying to prevent Maureen Galindo, who has expressed antisemitic views, from winning the party's runoff with Johnny Garcia. While Texas lawmakers redrew the 35th District to help Republicans, Democrats view it as within reach and don't want Galindo's past comments to impede them.
This story has been corrected to show that voter David Jacobson is 70, not 71.
Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press reporter Jamie Stengle contributed from Sasche, Texas.
A workers prepares a podium during a primary runoff election night event for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Attendees mingle during a primary runoff election night event for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Plano, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Mike Neal, right, 45, a canvasser for Dallas county clerk candidate Damarcus Offord, Jermaca Brown, center, 32, deputy campaign manager for Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, and Sam Dalton, left, 31, a volunteer with Stonewall Democrats, stand outside the Oak Lawn Branch Library during local and primary runoff elections Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Candidate signs line the entrance to a polling location as voters cast ballots in local and primary runoff elections Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Candidate signs line the entrance to a polling location ahead of local and primary runoff elections on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Gabriela Passos)
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks to supporters at a campaign event in McKinney, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/LM Otero)
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, listens to State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, during a campaign event in Lubbock, Texas, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Annie Rice)
