Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Wednesday that the U.S. military conducted another strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Eastern Pacific, killing three “narco-terrorists.”
Hegseth said the vessel was operated by a designated terrorist organization and that the individuals on board were engaged in “narco-trafficking.” It is unclear which designated terrorist organization the defense secretary was referring to.
The strike, which took place on Wednesday, was conducted in international waters and no U.S. service members were injured in the operation, according to the defense secretary.
“These strikes will continue, day after day. These are not simply drug runners—these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities,” Hegseth said in a post on social platform X. “These DTOs are the ‘Al Qaeda’ of our hemisphere and will not escape justice. We will find them and kill them, until the threat to the American people is extinguished.”
Hegseth shared the 26-second video of the strike, showing the boat streaking through the water and being hit, quickly being engulfed in flames.
This marks the second strike against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Pacific. The first strike was confirmed by Hegseth earlier on Wednesday, saying that the U.S. military struck and killed two “narco-terrorists.” That strike was conducted late Tuesday and took place in international waters.
Since the strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats started in early September, the U.S. military has killed at least 37 people, according to the Trump administration.
The U.S. military has conducted nine strikes in total as President Trump has turned up the pressure against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who the administration sees as an “illegitimate” leader.
The administration has bolstered its military presence near Venezuela, deploying warships and Marines, along with other special operations units, as part of its effort to curb the influx of narcotics into the U.S.
Earlier this month, Trump authorized the CIA to conduct operations in Venezuela and raised the prospect of striking Venezuela on land.
“We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. And they haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that. We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when [they] come to the land,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.
