The U.S. military killed six people in strikes on two reported drug smuggling vessels over the weekend, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Monday morning.
There were three people aboard each vessel, all of whom were killed, Hegseth said, adding that the boats were operated by U.S.-designated terrorist organizations. He did not specify which.
“These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific,” he said. “Under President [Donald] Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people.”
The secretary often announces on social media when a new strike has occurred and will often share video of the purported impact. Monday’s post included a video showing a boat stationary in the water when it got engulfed in flames. The video then cuts to another boat, this one moving, before a projectile strikes it.
The administration has publicly announced that there have been nearly 20 of these strikes, which have resulted in the deaths of roughly 75 people, since the military began this campaign in early September.
The Sunday strikes occurred in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Many of the U.S. strikes in this campaign initially took place in the Caribbean Sea.
U.S. officials have not given evidence to prove there are drugs aboard the vessels they target, which has garnered bipartisan frustration on Capitol Hill, though the Trump administration maintains it is justified in using lethal force due to the number of fatal overdoses each year.
The United States also has its largest presence in the Caribbean region at any point in decades. With thousands of troops in the area and an aircraft carrier on its way, experts believe the military presence is much larger than necessary for the current operation. In turn, there is speculation — fueled at times by Trump — that there could be a larger operation in mind.
The Trump administration views Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as an illegitimate leader and has accused him of leading one of the cartels operating in his country. He was charged with narcoterrorism in the U.S. in 2020.
DRUG BOAT STRIKES ARE TIED TO VENEZUELA. THAT’S NOT WHERE THE FENTANYL COMES FROM
Trump has revealed publicly that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert missions on Venezuelan soil and has discussed the possibility of the military undertaking similar strikes to the ones it has already conducted, but on Venezuelan soil. Strikes inside Venezuela would be a major escalation. Should it do so, likely targets would include airstrips, military bases, and drug production facilities.
Cocaine, which is produced in Colombia, is largely the drug that is smuggled from Venezuela to the U.S. Fentanyl, which is significantly more dangerous, largely comes from Mexican drug cartels, which get help from China.
