U.S. Southern Command launched another kinetic strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing four alleged drug traffickers.
The strike, launched on Wednesday, comes as the 26th strike from the Department of War on suspected drug boats in the region. It also comes one day after War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio confidentially briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the strikes on the drug-running boats.
“On Dec. 17, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” U.S. Southern Command said in an X post.
The U.S. announced three strikes that killed eight suspected drug traffickers on Monday evening. Monday’s strikes were the first announced since Dec. 4.
With Wednesday’s strike, at least 98 suspected drug traffickers have been killed since the strikes began in September. SOUTHCOM confirmed that no U.S. military members were harmed in Wednesday’s strike.
The airstrikes on the suspected drug boats have come under scrutiny from lawmakers who have questioned the administration’s ability to strike without congressional approval. The strategy came under further scrutiny after the Washington Post reported on a “double tap” hit to reportedly kill survivors of an initial September strike. The Trump administration has stood by the legality of the follow-up strike.
HEGSETH AND GOP CLASH OVER REFUSAL TO RELEASE VENEZUELAN BOAT STRIKES VIDEO
Hegseth told reporters, following his Tuesday Capitol Hill briefings, that the video of the second strike from Sept. 2 would be released to the Senate and House Armed Services Committees, not the public.
A provision of this year’s National Defense Authorization Act, passed by the Senate on Wednesday, slashes 25% of Hegseth’s budget unless he provides unedited videos of the strikes to the two committees. Following passage from both chambers, the bill heads to Trump’s desk for his signature.
