The attack was carried out at the direction of President Trump, Hegseth said in a social media post with unclassified video of the strike.
“Intelligence agencies have confirmed that the vessel was involved in the illicit smuggling of narcotics, that it was operating along a known narcotics smuggling route and that the vessel was transporting narcotics,” Hegseth said.
“Two male narco-terrorists” aboard the ship were killed, the defense secretary added, noting that no U.S. personnel were killed during the operation. No further information was provided.
Dating back through early September, the Trump administration has reported well over a dozen such strikes in the waters of the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific off the coast of South America on what are reportedly drug ships. More than fifty people were killed in the strikes.
Beyond the unclassified videos released by the Defense Department, the U.S. has provided no details about the boats struck or the people on board.
The White House says they are part of an effort to cripple the activities of drug cartels. Some lawmakers have criticized the strikes, saying the White House has not provided sufficient evidence that the boats were smuggling drugs, and some insist the president needs congressional approval to carry out the strikes.
Mr. Trump told reporters on Oct. 23, “Well, I don’t think we’re necessarily going to ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people who are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be dead.”
Several of the strikes have taken place off the coast of Venezuela, which Mr Trump has criticized controversial Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and amid a broader buildup of U.S. military assets in the Caribbean.
When asked in an interview with “60 Minutes” last week, if Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Mr. Trump responded, “I would say yes.” I think so, yes.’
Mr. Trump also confirmed last month that he had authorized secret CIA operations in Venezuela.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration assigned several cartels as terrorist organizations, including the infamous Tren de Aragua in Venezuela.
The Pentagon has meanwhile increased its presence in Latin American waters and deployed eight military ships to the region. Last month, the Pentagon announced that the US would also send the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group also to the area.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar en route to the Caribbean, CBS News learned Tuesday, along with the USS Bainbridge, a destroyer.
#dead #latest #attack #suspected #drug #boat #Pacific #Hegseth