The US military has killed four men in a strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Wednesday, Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth said.
"This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth said in a post on X on Wednesday.
Earlier today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific. This vessel, like all the others, was known by our… pic.twitter.com/mBOLA5RYQe
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 29, 2025
Hegseth's post included a 22-second video clip of a boat in water that gets struck and explodes.
Hegseth said the operation was conducted under the direction of President Donald Trump and targeted a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation (DTO).
"Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel — and killed — during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. No US forces were harmed in this strike," he said.
Hegseth described the mission as part of a wider campaign against narco-trafficking networks operating in the Western Hemisphere.
"The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans. The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate," he added.
More attacks
The Pentagon has carried out several similar operations in recent weeks in both the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, targeting vessels suspected of transporting narcotics from South America.
US says the strikes are aimed at dismantling drug trafficking routes and criminal organisations accused of smuggling narcotics into North America.
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Source: TRT