US forces have struck another vessel alleged to be carrying drugs, this time in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, the Pentagon has confirmed. According to defense secretary Pete Hegseth, two people on board the vessel were killed. No US forces were harmed. The vessel was known to US intelligence and was believed to be carrying drugs along a known trafficking route in international waters, Hegseth added.
The strike marks the eighth US strike against suspected drug boats since 2 September - but the first in the Pacific. Video of the strike appears to show a long, blue speed boat moving through the water before being struck by US ordinance.
Narco-terrorists intending to bring position to our shores will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere, Hegseth wrote on X. Just as Al Qaeda wages war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people.
He added, There will be no refuge or forgiveness - only justice. In a leaked memo recently sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration stated it was involved in a non-international armed conflict with drug-trafficking organizations.
At least 34 people have been killed in American strikes on alleged drug boats, including a recent strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean. Two men survived a strike last week and were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador. Ecuador's government later released a survivor, Andrés Fernando Tufiño, citing a lack of evidence of wrongdoing. The other man, from Colombia, reportedly remains hospitalized.
US President Donald Trump and administration officials have repeatedly justified the strikes as counter-narcotics measures necessary to address drug-trafficking organizations, many of which have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US. Citing a defense official, CBS reported that the latest strike occurred in international waters near Colombia.
This news comes amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, with Trump alleging Petro to be an illegal drug leader. Trump announced that the US will no longer offer subsidies to Colombia, historically a close ally in Latin America.
Both Colombia and nearby Ecuador have significant Pacific coastlines utilized to funnel drugs toward the US through Central America and Mexico. US estimates from the Drug Enforcement Agency indicate that the majority of cocaine bound for US cities passes through the Pacific. While drug seizures in the Caribbean, the site of most US strikes so far, are rising, they still account for a small percentage overall.
Details on the identities of those killed in the strikes or what drug trafficking organizations they allegedly belong to have not been disclosed. Approximately 10,000 US troops, along with numerous aircraft and ships, have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation.
The strike marks the eighth US strike against suspected drug boats since 2 September - but the first in the Pacific. Video of the strike appears to show a long, blue speed boat moving through the water before being struck by US ordinance.
Narco-terrorists intending to bring position to our shores will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere, Hegseth wrote on X. Just as Al Qaeda wages war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people.
He added, There will be no refuge or forgiveness - only justice. In a leaked memo recently sent to US lawmakers, the Trump administration stated it was involved in a non-international armed conflict with drug-trafficking organizations.
At least 34 people have been killed in American strikes on alleged drug boats, including a recent strike on a semi-submersible vessel in the Caribbean. Two men survived a strike last week and were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador. Ecuador's government later released a survivor, Andrés Fernando Tufiño, citing a lack of evidence of wrongdoing. The other man, from Colombia, reportedly remains hospitalized.
US President Donald Trump and administration officials have repeatedly justified the strikes as counter-narcotics measures necessary to address drug-trafficking organizations, many of which have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US. Citing a defense official, CBS reported that the latest strike occurred in international waters near Colombia.
This news comes amid rising tensions between the Trump administration and Colombian President Gustavo Petro, with Trump alleging Petro to be an illegal drug leader. Trump announced that the US will no longer offer subsidies to Colombia, historically a close ally in Latin America.
Both Colombia and nearby Ecuador have significant Pacific coastlines utilized to funnel drugs toward the US through Central America and Mexico. US estimates from the Drug Enforcement Agency indicate that the majority of cocaine bound for US cities passes through the Pacific. While drug seizures in the Caribbean, the site of most US strikes so far, are rising, they still account for a small percentage overall.
Details on the identities of those killed in the strikes or what drug trafficking organizations they allegedly belong to have not been disclosed. Approximately 10,000 US troops, along with numerous aircraft and ships, have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation.
