In a move that’s rattling nerves across Latin America and sparking heated debate in Washington, the US military carried out another lethal strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean this Wednesday, killing all four people aboard. The action, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on X (formerly Twitter), marks the 14th such attack in a two-month campaign ordered by President Donald Trump, bringing the total reported death toll to at least 61 since September.
Hegseth’s post included a dramatic video: a small boat, engulfed in flames and smoke, drifting on open water. “Earlier today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel,” Hegseth declared, adding, “The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans. The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate.” According to Hegseth, the strike took place in international waters and no US personnel were harmed.
US intelligence, according to Hegseth, determined that the targeted vessel was “transiting along a known narco-trafficking route and carrying narcotics.” He further claimed the boat was operated by a designated terrorist organization, though he declined to provide the name of the group, the identities of the deceased, or any evidence of drugs on board—details the Pentagon has consistently withheld throughout the campaign.
The strikes are part of a broader escalation in the Trump administration’s efforts to stem the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, a campaign that has seen the US military’s presence in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific surge dramatically. The deployment now includes the world’s largest warship, the USS Gerald R Ford, along with a formidable armada of warships, Marines, fighter jets, bombers, and drones. The administration has justified the campaign as a necessary response to what it calls an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and gangs in Latin America, many of which the US has designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
President Trump has not minced words in his accusations, repeatedly alleging that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is at the helm of a sprawling drug-trafficking operation—a charge Maduro vehemently denies. The US, along with several other nations, refuses to recognize Maduro as Venezuela’s legitimate leader after the 2024 election was widely dismissed as neither free nor fair. Opposition tallies from polling stations reportedly showed their candidate had won by a landslide.
Venezuela and Colombia have both expressed outrage over the strikes, which they view as violations of their sovereignty and potential precursors to wider military intervention. Venezuela’s attorney general told the BBC there is “no doubt” that Trump is trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government, accusing the US of angling for the country’s natural resources, including gold, oil, and copper. Over the weekend, a US warship’s maneuvers in the region were branded by Venezuelan officials as a “hostile provocation.”
The Trump administration’s campaign began in early September, initially targeting suspected drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean Sea before expanding operations to the eastern Pacific in recent weeks. In some cases, the administration has linked targeted vessels to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, but, as with other details, public evidence has been scant. On Monday, just two days before the most recent strike, US forces reportedly hit four boats in the Pacific, killing 14 people in a single day—an escalation that has only intensified scrutiny.
While the administration has produced a classified legal opinion justifying the strikes, arguing that cartels pose an imminent threat to Americans, the campaign has ignited a firestorm on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers from both parties have questioned the president’s authority to order lethal military action absent congressional approval. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, has been especially vocal, warning that the strikes risk killing innocent people and citing Coast Guard statistics showing that a significant percentage of boats boarded on suspicion of drug trafficking turn out to be innocent. Paul maintains that if the US intends to engage in a war with Venezuela after targeting boats allegedly tied to the Tren de Aragua gang, it must seek a formal declaration of war from Congress.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee echoed these concerns in a letter Wednesday, demanding to review the legal rationale behind the strikes. “Drug trafficking is a terrible crime that has had devastating impacts on American families and communities and should be prosecuted. Nonetheless, the President’s actions to hold alleged drug traffickers accountable must still conform with the law,” their letter read. Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chair Mark Warner also criticized the administration for briefing only Republican members on the military strikes, stating, “Decisions about the use of American military force are not campaign strategy sessions, and they are not the private property of one political party. For any administration to treat them that way erodes our national security and flies in the face of Congress’ constitutional obligation to oversee matters of war and peace.”
Despite mounting criticism, the administration has shown no sign of slowing its campaign. President Trump has even floated the possibility of expanding the strikes to land-based targets, declaring last week, “The land is going to be next.” The administration insists that the president does not need explicit authorization from Congress to conduct these operations, relying on legal arguments reminiscent of those invoked after the September 11, 2001, attacks to justify the so-called war on terror.
Yet, the lack of transparency continues to fuel skepticism. The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed or to provide evidence that the targeted boats were, in fact, carrying narcotics. Critics argue that the secrecy surrounding the campaign undermines accountability and increases the risk of tragic errors. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs, and with each strike, the risk of a broader regional conflict seems to grow.
As the US military’s campaign against alleged drug traffickers intensifies, the world is left watching—some with hope, others with trepidation—to see where this high-stakes confrontation will lead next.
