The U.S. military has once again reportedly struck vessels it identified as narcotics‑running boats, killing six more people and raising the overall death toll in this campaign to 76, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
He reported via a Twitter post that on Sunday, the U.S. executed two strikes in international waters of the eastern Pacific against vessels described as “carrying narcotics” and manned by three “male narco‑terrorists” each. “All 6 were killed. No U.S. forces were harmed,” he said.
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, two lethal kinetic strikes were conducted on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.
These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and… pic.twitter.com/ocUoGzwwDO
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 10, 2025
Hegseth further claimed the two boats were “operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” though he did not name those groups. The strikes follow a pattern begun during the Trump administration in September of targeting drug‑trafficking boats in the Pacific and Caribbean, yet officials have not released the names of those killed or offered public proof of the narcotics‑smuggling or threat links.
Rights experts say the campaign appears to be extrajudicial killings, even if the targets are traffickers. The United Nations rights chief has urged Washington to investigate whether international human‑rights and humanitarian laws are being violated.
