Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Saturday that U.S. forces attacked an alleged drug ship in the Caribbean and killed three people. a series of similar attacks in the area in recent weeks.
“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the War Department conducted a deadly strike against another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization (DTO) in the Caribbean,” Hegseth said. a post On social platform X.
“Three male narco-terrorists were on board the ship during the attack which was carried out in international waters,” Hegseth added. “All three terrorists were killed, and no US forces were harmed in the attack.”
Saturday’s attack is the latest in a series of US military efforts targeting alleged drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea.
Since early September, the Trump administration has directed the Defense Department to carry out strikes against alleged drug trafficking, which has killed more than 64 people in international waters. Attacks have also occurred in the eastern Pacific.
Americans mass protest This operation. Democratic and Republican lawmakers were given a classified briefing on the attacks on Thursday. many people left the meeting Irritable and frustrated.
House Armed Services Committee Democrats said they are not satisfied By the briefing they were unsure of the legality of the operation as well as the administration’s “end game.”
“Our job is to monitor the use of lethal force by our military outside the United States, and I am leaving without understanding how and why they are assessing whether the use of lethal force here is adequate.” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) told reporters ahead of the briefing.
Hegseth’s Saturday post featured a video showing an object moving through water before a bright explosion.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home – and they will not succeed. The Department will treat them exactly the same as we treated al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his post. “We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them and kill them.”
