Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the US military killed four men in an attack on a suspected drug vessel in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday. The attack claimed a total of 61 victims.
He said: “This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illegal narcotics smuggling, was sailing a known narcotics trafficking route and was carrying narcotics.”
“Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel — and were killed — during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. No U.S. forces were injured in that strike. The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists who bring drugs to our shores to poison Americans. The War Department will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate,” Hegseth.
A 22-second video clip posted by Hegseth shows the ship in the water as it was hit and exploded.
The strikes are part of an escalated effort by President Donald Trump to target suspected drug-trafficking networks operating in international waters.
14 people died in three attacks
Earlier on Tuesday, Hegseth said US forces killed 14 narco-terrorists in three attacks, with one surviving.
“Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted three deadly kinetic strikes against four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs) narcotics traffickers in the Eastern Pacific. Our intelligence knew the four vessels were traveling through known narcotics trafficking routes and carrying narcotics,” he said.
“Eight male narco-terrorists were on board the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were on board during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were on board during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed in the three strikes, with one surviving. All strikes were in international waters with no casualties to US forces.”
According to Hegseth, Mexican authorities have assumed responsibility for the search and rescue operation for the lone survivor. CNN reported that a total of 14 vessels were destroyed, with three survivors identified as of yesterday.
Last week, the Trump administration expanded its campaign to the eastern Pacific after earlier strikes against vessels in the Caribbean Sea. Earlier this month, the US Navy detained two survivors of a similar Caribbean attack before repatriating them to Ecuador and Colombia.
During her daily news conference, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government had been informed of Monday’s operation and possible survivors. “These events took place in international waters,” she said, noting that she had ordered Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente to coordinate with U.S. Ambassador Ron Johnson and the Mexican Navy Secretariat on further details, according to CNN.
A CNN report said the Trump administration issued a classified legal opinion allowing them as enemy combatants to use lethal force against drug traffickers, allowing such strikes to occur without judicial oversight.
