A series of US attacks on suspected drug ships in the eastern Pacific have left 14 suspected drug traffickers dead and one survivor, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
In a post on
“The four ships were known to our intelligence apparatus, were operating along known drug trafficking routes and were transporting narcotics,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth posted a video of about 30 seconds, which appeared to show two ships close together in the water before exploding.
People are visibly loaded with a large number of parcels or bundles.
Another part of the video shows a ship moving in the water and then exploding.
Trump has also authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
The Pentagon has provided little information about the attacks, including the amount of drugs the boats were believed to be carrying and the identities of those killed.
The strikes have raised concerns among some lawmakers, who are questioning whether they are adhering to the laws of war.
Legal experts have questioned why the U.S. military carried out the attacks, rather than the Coast Guard, the main U.S. maritime law enforcement agency, and why other efforts to stop the shipments were not made before deadly attacks were carried out.
The attacks in the Pacific come against the backdrop of a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, including guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.
The government has deployed the Ford Carrier strike group to the region and is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.
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