U.S. forces struck the eighth alleged drug vessel in international waters off the western coast of South America on Tuesday night according to a statement shared by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. It was the first such strike in the Pacific, as opposed to the Caribbean.
Writing on X Wednesday, Hegseth said the Department of Defense conducted the strike at President Donald Trump’s direction. The strike, which likely occurred off the coast of Ecuador and Colombia, killed “two narco-terrorists” according to Hegseth who confirmed that no U.S. forces were harmed during the operation.
“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route, and carrying narcotics,” said Hegseth.
The Pentagon has yet to confirm the identities of the two alleged drug traffickers killed in Tuesday’s strike. At least 32 people have previously been killed in seven strikes off the coast of Venezuela during the last eight weeks as the Trump administration ramps up its attacks on boats they claim are being used to traffic narcotics to the U.S.
“Officially, our position is we’re there to stop narco-terrorists,” a senior administration official told Axios following the recent strikes. “We’re going to blow up their boats. And we’re going to be patient about it. No one is in any rush.”
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