Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced that a U.S. strike killed two aboard an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific, the latest operation in the U.S. campaign against drug smuggling.
Hegseth did not provide the exact location of the strike. In a post on X, he labeled the crew “narco-terrorists” affiliated with a designated terrorist organization and added that intelligence confirmed the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling along a known trafficking route.
Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO).
Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known… pic.twitter.com/OsQuHrYLMp
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 5, 2025
“We will find and terminate every vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our top priority. No cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military,” Hegseth said.
The attack marks at least the 16th strike on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since President Donald Trump’s anti-narco campaign began last September. So far, 66 alleged narco-terrorists have been killed in U.S. operations.
The latest attack comes as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier heads to the Caribbean to join an expanding U.S. deployment of planes, ships, and thousands of troops across Latin America.
Earlier this week, Russia said it delivered Pantsir-S1 and Buk-M2 air defense systems to Venezuela in response to Western pressure and is reportedly considering sending its new Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. Venezuela has not confirmed the deliveries.
The reported shipments come after Venezuela requested military aid amid rising Caribbean tensions and recent U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels near its waters.
