US forces carried out a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, killing two people, according to US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The United States began conducting such strikes in early September, actions that experts argue constitute extrajudicial killings even when targeting known traffickers. Since then, at least 67 people have reportedly been killed in the Caribbean and Pacific regions as part of these operations.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. The strike was conducted in international waters in the Eastern Pacific,” Hegseth wrote on X, sharing a video showing a boat engulfed in flames.
“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,” he added.
So far, the strikes have destroyed at least 17 vessels — 16 boats and a semi-submersible. However, Washington has not publicly released evidence that the targets were actively transporting narcotics or posed a direct threat to the United States. Families of those killed and some governments have claimed that many victims were civilians, including fishermen.
The campaign has coincided with a significant US military buildup in Latin America.
- Regional Tensions Rise –
The US has deployed multiple warships and F-35 stealth aircraft to the region, and dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group as part of its operations.
The military presence and strikes have heightened regional tensions. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro — who faces drug-related indictments in the United States — accused Washington of using the pretext of combating drug trafficking to pursue “regime change” in Caracas and gain control of Venezuelan oil. Maduro insists there is no domestic drug cultivation in Venezuela and says the country is involuntarily used as a transit route for Colombian cocaine.
The Trump administration has justified the operations by informing Congress that the United States is engaged in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, categorising them as terrorist organisations.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his hope on Tuesday that the United States would not launch a ground incursion into Venezuela, while reiterating his willingness to act as a mediator between the two countries.
Pope Leo XIV also criticised the US military deployment in the Caribbean. Responding to a journalist’s question, he said that while countries have the right to deploy forces to “defend peace,” in this instance the military action “increases tension.” The 70-year-old pontiff added, “I think that with violence we don’t win. The thing to do is to seek dialogue.”