Hegseth: US launched three strikes on drug boats in eastern Pacific, killing 14

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the U.S. military conducted three strikes in the eastern Pacific on suspected drug-smuggling boats, killing 14, and leaving one survivor.

Hegseth posted on X on Tuesday that the strikes occurred on Monday on four boats "operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific. The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics."

"All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed," he later added. "Regarding the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated Search and Rescue (SAR) standard protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue.

"The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own. 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," he concluded.

This is the first time there were multiple strikes in one day on suspected drug-smuggling boats since the strikes began in September.