Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Saturday that U.S. forces struck an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean and killed three after a string of similar strikes in the region in recent weeks.
“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean,” Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X.
“Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters,” Hegseth continued. “All three terrorists were killed, and no U.S. forceshttps://thehill.com/policy/defense/5585410-us-forces-strike-drug-vessel-hegseth/ were harmed in this strike.”
Saturday’s strike is the latest in a series of U.S. military efforts targeting alleged narcotrafficking in the Caribbean Sea.
Since early September, the Trump administration has directed the Defense Department to carry out strikes against alleged drug smuggling, killing upward of 64 people in international waters. There have also been strikes in the East Pacific.