Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the United States military took out four more narco-trafficking boats through kinetic strikes in the Eastern Pacific, leaving 14 suspected drug traffickers dead.
Hegseth said that the strikes took place in international waters on Monday and were authorized by President Donald Trump. The boats were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs), Hegseth said.
“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote on X. “A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed.”
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.
The four vessels were known by our intelligence… pic.twitter.com/UhoFlZ3jPG
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025
There were eight male “narco-terrorists” on board the first boat, four on the second, and three on the third, according to Hegseth. He added that Mexican search-and-rescue authorities had assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue of the survivor from the third boat. It was not specified which DTOs were targeted.
“The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own,” Hegseth said. “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.”
Join us now during our exclusive Deal of the Decade. Get everything for $7 a month. Not as fans. As fighters. Go to DailyWire.com/Subscribe to join now.
At Trump’s direction, the military has taken out dozens of suspected drug-runners throughout the Caribbean Sea and expanded strikes into the Pacific. Two survivors of previous strikes were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador, where American authorities recommended they face prosecution for drug trafficking.
On Friday, Hegseth dispatched the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group toward South America to aid in efforts to fight drug trafficking in the region.
“The enhanced U.S. force presence … will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs [Transnational Criminal Organizations].”
Some lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have expressed concern about Trump’s strikes on suspected drug runners, arguing that Congress must grant approval before the administration uses the military to target suspected narco-terrorists in international waters. Trump has said that he doesn’t need a declaration of war to target those he says are bringing drugs into the country.
.png)
.png)
