At least eight people were killed Monday in a US military attack on three suspected drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific.
The attack was ordered by Pete Hegseth, according to the US Southern Command, and brings to 95 the total number of people killed in similar military actions in recent weeks.
“On December 15, Joint Task Force Southern Spear, led by @SecWar Pete Hegseth, conducted deadly kinetic attacks on three ships of Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” the U.S. Southern Command said. wrote in a statement about X.
“Intelligence officials confirmed that the ships were operating along known drug smuggling routes in the Eastern Pacific and were involved in drug trafficking.”
It marks a further escalation of hostilities in the region following the seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker by US forces last week, which was reportedly targeted for carrying sanctioned fuel in international waters.
US President Donald Trump’s administration is facing increasing demands for transparency and accountability, with US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer labeling the actions as “rogue and reckless” on Monday.
A briefing for all senators will take place on Tuesday, involving Hegseth and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“Per my repeated demands, an all-Senator briefing will take place tomorrow with Secretaries Hegseth and Rubio on this administration’s rogue and reckless actions in the Caribbean,” Schumer wrote in a statement on X/Twitter on Monday.
“This briefing comes after weeks of pressure from me and other Democrats in the Senate to ensure that all Senators hear from this administration, which seems afraid to provide even the most basic answers. The American people deserve oversight. We intend to make that happen.”
United Nations and legal experts have warned that the strikes could amount to “extrajudicial killings”, with Hegseth accused by colleagues of “war crimes”. The White House insists the actions target “narco-terrorists” to prevent drug trafficking.
Trump is accused of barely concealing his intentions to overthrow the government of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, reportedly offering him an ultimatum to resign immediately in exchange for safe passage out of the country.
Maduro has accused the US of “fabricating” a war to exploit the country’s oil resources.
Thousands of US troops and a carrier strike group have moved to the Caribbean amid the tensions.
On Monday, Trump labeled fentanyl – a strong opioid painkiller widely used in the healthcare industry – as a “weapon of mass destruction.”
“There is no doubt that America’s adversaries are smuggling fentanyl into the United States in part because they want to kill Americans. If this were a war, it would be one of the worst wars,” Trump said as he signed an executive order labeling the substance as a “chemical weapon.”
“They have destroyed a lot of families because if they lose a child, or even if their child is heavily addicted, you lose that family, the family will never be the same.”
The move could expand the scope of the Trump administration’s military powers in the region, with the presidential directive directing the defense secretary and attorney general to determine whether the Pentagon should provide military resources to combat fentanyl trafficking.
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