WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Saturday that U.S. forces struck a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in international waters of the Caribbean, killing three people on board. The operation, ordered by President Donald Trump, marks at least the 15th U.S. strike since early September targeting drug smuggling networks in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Hegseth described the target as a vessel operated by a “U.S.-designated terrorist organization,” though he did not specify which one. He said the strike was part of a broader campaign to “track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.” The Pentagon reported no U.S. casualties.
The administration has framed the operations as part of an “armed conflict” against international drug cartels, citing the same legal authority used for post-9/11 counterterrorism operations. Critics, including international law experts and human rights organizations, argue the strikes violate international law and exceed the scope of existing war powers.
Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have demanded legal justifications and a list of organizations targeted under the campaign, accusing the administration of withholding contradictory or incomplete information.
Since September, U.S. strikes have killed at least 64 people, with the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group providing regional support.
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