US Navy Targets Suspected Drug-Trafficking Vessel in High-Stakes Eastern Pacific Operation

WASHINGTON – On Thursday, the U.S. military confirmed executing another lethal operation against a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

According to a social media announcement by U.S. Southern Command, the targeted boat was navigating established drug-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific, actively participating in such operations. The strike resulted in two fatalities. A video accompanying the statement reveals a boat cruising before erupting into flames.

The military action coincided with a statement from U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who claimed that prominent cartel figures in the region have indefinitely halted narcotics activities due to “highly effective” recent strikes in the Caribbean. Hegseth shared this assertion on his personal social media but did not offer further evidence or details.

Efforts to obtain additional information from U.S. Southern Command and the Pentagon regarding Hegseth’s claim were unsuccessful.

The latest strike adds to the toll from the Trump administration’s campaign against suspected drug vessels, now totaling 128 casualties. Last week, the military reported this number at 126, including individuals presumed lost at sea. This figure encompasses 116 individuals killed instantly in at least 36 operations conducted since early September across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, as reported by U.S. Southern Command. Ten more are assumed dead after search efforts failed to locate them post-strike.

Thursday’s strike is the second known attack since the raid that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last month.

President Donald Trump has said the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs. But his administration has offered little evidence to support its claims of killing “narcoterrorists.”