The United States Armed Forces conducted a lethal attack against a vessel in the eastern Pacific this Tuesday, resulting in the deaths of the two individuals on board.
The Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, confirmed that the operation was ordered by President Donald Trump and was directed against a group that the U.S. government considers part of a Designated Terrorist Organization.
"Yesterday, by order of President Trump, the Department of Defense conducted a lethal kinetic strike against a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization involved in drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific," Hegseth stated on his official X account (formerly Twitter).
"There were two narcoterrorists aboard the vessel during the attack, which took place in international waters. Both were killed and no U.S. forces were injured," the report states.
The official added that U.S. intelligence was aware that the ship was traveling through a common drug trafficking route and was carrying illegal drugs.
"The drug terrorists who intend to bring poison to our shores will not find refuge anywhere in our hemisphere," he stated.
The attack represents the eighth known operation against suspected drug traffickers since early September, and the first conducted in the Pacific. The previous seven took place in the Caribbean Sea, according to reports from CNN.
"Just as Al Qaeda waged war against our homeland, these cartels wage war against our border and our people. There will be no refuge or pardon, only justice," Hegseth wrote in his statement, comparing the offensive against drug trafficking to the post-September 11 counter-terrorism efforts.
Sources cited by CNN revealed that the Trump administration has issued a classified legal opinion to justify lethal attacks against a secret list of cartels and alleged drug traffickers.
This legal interpretation considers drug traffickers as enemy combatants and authorizes their elimination without prior judicial review; however, presidents like those of Venezuela and Colombia have described these actions as extrajudicial executions that need to be examined.
Last week, the United States attacked at least two more vessels in the Caribbean. In one of the cases, the survivors —an Ecuadorian and a Colombian— were subsequently repatriated to their countries, which could create a legal and political dilemma regarding Washington's authority to carry out such extraterritorial operations.
Until now, the White House has not provided additional details regarding the type of weaponry used or the identity of the individuals who died in the most recent attack in the Pacific.
Filed under:
