War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the tenth strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat, which led to the deaths of six narco-terrorists. The operation, carried out at night in international waters, marked the first such strike under President Donald Trump’s administration.
President Donald Trump directed a nighttime U.S. strike on a suspected Tren de Aragua vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing six alleged narco-terrorists, the administration announced. ‘Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea,’ Hegseth said in a statement. ‘The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.’
He also noted that all six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in the strike. Hegseth further warned that if individuals are involved in smuggling drugs in the hemisphere, the U.S. would treat them like Al Qaeda, emphasizing a relentless pursuit regardless of the time of day.
The strike marks the 10th strike targeting suspected drug trafficking boats since Trump returned to office. The president has made combating the nation’s drug crisis a central policy focus. The first strike occurred on Sept. 2, and since then, 43 suspected drug traffickers have been killed and two have survived. The operation’s pace has increased from one every few weeks in September to three so far this week.
These operations have primarily targeted vessels linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua network. The missions have ranged from attacks on smuggling boats to the destruction of a submersible. Footage of several operations has been released by Hegseth and Trump on social media, highlighting the administration’s aggressive stance against drug trafficking.
When asked by reporters whether he would request a declaration of war against the cartels, Trump stated that was not the plan. Instead, he emphasized the goal of eliminating drug traffickers, stating that they would be ‘dead.’ Trump has also declared drug cartels as unlawful combatants and claimed the U.S. is in an ‘armed conflict’ with them, a stance that has drawn criticism.
Several lawmakers from both parties have questioned Trump’s decision to launch these operations without consulting Congress. Democratic lawmakers have warned that the strikes could breach international law. Senator Rand Paul, a libertarian, has raised concerns about the legality of killing individuals without due process, citing Coast Guard statistics that show a high percentage of boats boarded for drug trafficking suspicions are innocents. He has also argued that if the administration plans to engage in a war with Venezuela, it must secure a declaration of war from Congress.
Meanwhile, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has criticized the strikes, calling for a criminal investigation against Trump and other officials involved. He pointed to the death of an innocent Colombian fisherman during one of the operations. Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has accused the Trump administration of using the strikes to force regime change in his country.
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Tom Cotton have supported the strikes, asserting they are a justified show of force against narco-terrorists. Fox News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report. The administration’s actions reflect a complex interplay of domestic policy and international relations, as the U.S. confronts the challenges of drug trafficking and organized crime while navigating legal and geopolitical complexities.