The US military carried out its ninth strike against an alleged drug-smuggling ship in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, killing three, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. According to the AP, this action marks the expansion of the administration of US President Donald Trump’s efforts to combat the alleged drug trade in South America.
The attack came after another attack on Tuesday night in the same region that killed two people, Hegseth shared on social media earlier in the day. Unlike the previous seven US strikes, which targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea, these recent attacks took place in the eastern Pacific. The total death toll has reached at least 37 since the attack began last month.
The strikes signal an expansion of the military’s focus, which is now expanding into waters near South America, a key route for smuggling cocaine from the world’s biggest producers. Hegseth’s social media posts also drew direct comparisons between the US war on terror launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the increased crackdown by the Trump administration.
Hegseth mentioned, “Just as al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and on our people. There will be no sanctuary or forgiveness – only justice.” Later Wednesday, he described the alleged drug addicts as the “al-Qaeda” of our hemisphere.
Trump has defended the strikes by arguing that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and by labeling criminal groups as illegal combatants, citing the same legal justification used by the George W. Bush administration for the war on terror.
As for the possibility of strikes on land, Trump said after the recent boat attack that “we have the legal authority. We can do it.” He warned: “We’re going to hit them very hard when they get on the ground. We’re fully prepared for that. And we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we get on the ground.”
Hegseth shares videos showing explosions hitting boats
In the first short video posted by Hegseth on Wednesday, a small boat carrying several brown packages can be seen traveling through the water. After a few seconds, the boat explodes and remains floating motionless, engulfed in flames. A second video shows another boat driving alongside it before it is hit by an explosion. Footage recorded afterwards shows the packages floating in the water.
Since this summer, the U.S. military has deployed an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and near the coast of Venezuela, fueling speculation that Trump may try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces narco-terrorism charges in the U.S.
