Deadly U.S. Strike Targets Drug-Smuggling Boat in Eastern Pacific Amid Military Buildup
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced another deadly strike on a boat accused of ferrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The strike came the same day an aircraft carrier began heading to the region as part of a new expansion of U.S. military firepower.
The attack on Tuesday killed two people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration’s campaign in South American waters to at least 66 people in at least 16 strikes.
President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by stating that the United States is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations. However, the administration has not provided evidence or further details to support these claims.
“We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens,” Hegseth posted while on a trip to Asia.
Lawmakers from both parties have pressed the Trump administration for more information about who is being targeted and the legal justification for the strikes, especially given that Congress has not authorized military action.
Meanwhile, United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk last week called on the U.S. to halt the attacks and “prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
Military Buildup in the Caribbean
The latest strike coincides with the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier leaving the Mediterranean Sea en route to the Caribbean. The deployment follows Defense Secretary Hegseth’s order to send the carrier to the region more than a week ago.
Once there, the Ford will join an already robust buildup of American planes, ships, and thousands of troops in Latin America.
A defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the USS Gerald R. Ford and the destroyer USS Bainbridge crossed through the Straits of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday.
The Ford’s strike group originally deployed with five destroyers, though it is unclear if all will proceed to the Caribbean. Currently, two destroyers, the USS Winston Churchill and USS Mahan, remain in the Mediterranean, with the Mahan docked at Rota, Spain. The other two destroyers, the USS Forrest Sherman and the USS Mitscher, are stationed in the Red Sea.
Tensions With Venezuela
As the strikes and military assets in the region expand, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro—who faces narcoterrorism charges in the United States—has accused the U.S. government of “fabricating” a war against him.
During an interview aired Sunday on CBS’ “60 Minutes,” President Trump was asked if the U.S. was going to war with Venezuela. He responded:
“I doubt it. I don’t think so. But they’ve been treating us very badly, not only on drugs.”
Interviewer Norah O’Donnell also asked if Maduro’s days were numbered. Trump replied, “I would say yeah. I think so, yeah.” However, he did not specify whether he would order land strikes in Venezuela.
Details of the Latest Strike
In the latest strike, a video posted by Hegseth to social media shows footage of a boat in the water, partially obscured by a gray box, before it is blown up. The footage then cuts to the vessel engulfed in flames.