The United States conducted three more strikes on Tuesday, targeting four vessels allegedly involved in the drug trade in the Eastern Pacific, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Hegseth said in a post on the US-based social media platform X that the lethal kinetic strikes were carried out on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs).
“US intelligence indicates that the four vessels were transiting known drug trafficking routes and were transporting narcotics,” he said.
“A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed in the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no injuries to US forces,” he added.
“For the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated standard search and rescue (SAR) protocols, and Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue,” he said.
The raids mark the latest US crackdown on suspected drug-smuggling vessels as part of US President Donald Trump’s administration’s campaign against narco-terrorism.
Human rights groups and legal experts have questioned the legality of the operations, arguing that US strikes on drug cartels push the boundaries of international law.
