US hits suspected drug boat, slaps new Iran sanctions, raises Canada tariffs

WASHINGTON, United States — President Donald Trump has pushed forward on three policy fronts in the past 48 hours, with military action against suspected drug traffickers, a new sanctions package targeting Iran, and an escalation in the trade dispute with Canada. U.S. Southern Command said it destroyed a low-riding vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing two people it described as "narco-terrorists" involved in drug trafficking. The strike was carried out under Operation Southern Spear, the command's campaign launched in 2025 targeting suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. On Iran, the Treasury Department announced the launch of Operation Economic Exodus, a sanctions effort aimed at isolating Tehran from the global economy. The measures target digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping sectors and impose penalties on more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels linked to Iranian oil smuggling and procurement for the country's missile and nuclear programs. The Treasury also warned that parties continuing to do business with Iran face secondary sanctions risk. On trade, negotiations between Washington and Ottawa collapsed, prompting the U.S. administration to impose a 50% tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian food and industrial goods. Canada's government said it would respond with matching retaliatory duties, signaling a widening of the trade dispute between the two countries.