The U.S. military carried out a second airstrike in as many days on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday, posting video of the attack and asserting that the strike took place in international waters earlier that day.
In his social media post, Hegseth said the vessel was transporting narcotics and that three people were killed in the strike. He described the targets as “narco-terrorists” and warned that such operations would continue. “These strikes will continue, day after day,” Hegseth wrote. “These are not simply drug runners — these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities.”
U.S. officials said this strike follows another action Tuesday in the Pacific west of Central America; Hegseth released video of that earlier strike on Wednesday and said two people were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed. According to a U.S. government accounting cited by officials, nine known U.S. strikes on suspected drug vessels since early September have resulted in 37 deaths. Two survivors from recent strikes were returned to their home countries — one to Ecuador and one to Colombia — and Ecuadorian authorities said the survivor returned there has since been released.
Hegseth compared drug cartels to extremist groups, calling them “the al Qaeda of our hemisphere” and saying they “will not escape justice.”
President Donald Trump said Wednesday the maritime campaign has reduced the number of boats attempting to smuggle drugs into the United States, and predicted smugglers would shift more operations to land routes. “And we will hit them very hard when they come in by land and they haven’t experienced that yet,” he said, adding that if the operation expanded to include land targets, the administration would “probably” brief Congress, though “we don’t have to do that,” he asserted.
U.S. officials have said previous strikes in recent weeks were concentrated in the Caribbean Sea; the recent strikes mark a shift into the Eastern Pacific. Pentagon and Justice Department spokespeople did not immediately provide additional operational details, including which U.S. forces carried out the strikes, the intelligence basis for the actions, or whether any munitions assessments or independent investigations were under way.
The strikes raise questions about legal authorities, rules of engagement in international waters, and regional cooperation with countries in Central and South America. Regional governments and international organizations have not yet issued coordinated responses to the most recent strikes.
U.S. officials said investigations and after-action reviews are ongoing.
