WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has revealed another lethal operation targeting a boat suspected of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This announcement coincides with the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the area, marking a significant escalation in military presence.

Hegseth stated that Tuesday’s strike resulted in the deaths of two individuals aboard the vessel. This incident raises the number of fatalities to at least 66 across 16 separate strikes under the Trump administration’s campaign against drug activities in South American waters.

President Donald Trump has defended these military actions, asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, which he claims are supported by foreign terrorist groups. However, the administration has yet to present concrete evidence or further details to substantiate these claims.

“We are committed to locating and eliminating every vessel with the intent of smuggling drugs to the United States, which jeopardizes the safety of our citizens,” Hegseth declared.

Members of Congress from both political parties have urged the administration to provide more transparency regarding the targets of these strikes and the legal basis for such military actions.

The latest attack comes as the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has left the Mediterranean Sea on its way to the Caribbean after Hegseth ordered it to the region more than a week ago. It will join an already robust buildup of American planes, ships and thousands of troops in Latin America.

A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ship movements, confirmed that the Ford and the destroyer USS Bainbridge crossed through the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic on Tuesday.

The Ford originally deployed with five destroyers, but it’s not clear if all of them will go to the Caribbean. Two of the other destroyers in the Ford’s strike group, the USS Winston Churchill and the USS Mahan, are in the Mediterranean now, with the Mahan in port at Rota, Spain.

The other two destroyers, the USS Forrest Sherman and the USS Mitchener, are in the Red Sea, the official said.

In the latest strike, a video Hegseth posted to social media has a gray box obscuring a boat that appears in the water before it’s blown up. The footage then cuts to the vessel engulfed by flames.