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Two people were killed during the latest airstrike carried out by the United States military targeting an alleged drug boat, which took place in the Eastern Pacific on Tuesday (November 4), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in a post shared on his X account.
"Today, at the direction of President [Donald] Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO)," Hegseth wrote on his 'Secretary of War' account, along with an 'unclassified' video. "Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. The strike was conducted in international waters in the Eastern Pacific. No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, and two male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed. We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority. NO cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military."
The strike was the latest among at least 16 carried out by the United States military targeting alleged drug boats in the Pacific and Caribbean since September 2, which has totaled at least 66 deaths. On Saturday (November 1), Hegseth announced that three people were killed during an airstrike in the the Caribbean, which took place days after four people were killed during an airstrike in the Eastern Paciffic.
The strikes have come amid heightened tension between the Trump administration and the governments of Colombia and Venezuela.