The US military carried out three separate strikes Monday on four small vessels in the eastern Pacific that the Pentagon says were being used by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” to traffic narcotics, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on social media. The strikes, the Pentagon said, were ordered by President Donald Trump and were carried out in international waters; no US personnel were harmed.
According to Hegseth’s account, intelligence identified the four vessels as transiting known narco-trafficking routes and carrying narcotics. He described the three strikes as follows: eight men aboard the first vessel, four aboard the second and three aboard the third. Fourteen people in all were killed and one person survived. Hegseth said US Southern Command immediately initiated search-and-rescue procedures for the survivor, and Mexican search-and-rescue authorities agreed to coordinate the recovery.
The latest operations are the most recent phase of a campaign the administration began in September, during which US forces have struck multiple small vessels in the Gulf of America that the Pentagon has identified as linked to narcotics networks. The initiative is part of a broader effort to treat transnational drug traffickers as enemy combatants; Hegseth said both the Justice Department and Defense Department view the groups as “narco-terrorists” and likened the campaign’s purpose to defending the homeland after “over two decades” of US operations overseas.
Lawmakers like Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrats have asked how the use of lethal force against non-state smuggling crews in international waters squares with US war powers and the laws of armed conflict.
Murkowski was one of only two Republicans (alongside Sen. Rand Paul) to vote for a Democratic-led war powers resolution that would have required President Trump to seek congressional authorization before conducting further strikes on drug-trafficking vessels linked to designated terrorist organizations. The resolution failed 48-51, with most Republicans opposing it.
Pentagon officials said they will provide briefings to members of Congress and that no US forces were injured in Monday’s strikes. The fate of the single survivor after Mexican authorities assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue was not immediately clear.
5 thoughts on “Video: War on narco-terrorists expands to Pacific with three boats blown up, 14 dead, one survivor”
I’m struggling to find a problem with this approach. Way to go Pete!
Notice how the Conservative Pete deals in masculine operations to slay those contributing the death of Americans; while the Liberal Pete swished around the countryside in his penny-loafers and talked woke squat out of his twisted-sister pie-hole.
Hrrmmpphhh
Of course, Murkowski would be against this. On the other hand, I sure wouldn’t want any democrat president and war secretary to go around blowing things up because they surely would screw it up.
These strikes have led me to giving serious thought to the situation.
I haven’t yet concluded but I’m inclined to believe the cartel’s actions are a serious threat to our Republic and the strikes are quite justifiable as both deterrents and reprisals.
The day will come when those responsible for these murders will be held accountable in a court of law.
WHY??…In a court of law; They are killing our Americans due to the illegal drugs they bring over here through these ships..