The U.S. military has carried out yet another lethal strike in the Caribbean Sea, continuing a high-stakes campaign against maritime drug smuggling that has already killed dozens and ignited international controversy. The latest operation, confirmed Saturday by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, targeted a vessel operated by what the Trump administration has labeled a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
The nighttime strike, captured in dramatic footage shared by Hegseth on X, reportedly killed three alleged narco-terrorists. The secretary did not identify the group responsible but emphasized the vessel was actively transporting narcotics along a well-known trafficking corridor.
“This vessel—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling,” Hegseth stated. “Three male narco-terrorists were aboard… All three terrorists were killed, and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike.”
Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean.
This vessel—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be… pic.twitter.com/W7xqeMpSUi
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 2, 2025
This marked the 15th such strike in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September, according to reporting by the Associated Press, and brings the total number of suspected smugglers killed in the campaign to at least 64. The Trump administration has repeatedly defended the legality and necessity of these strikes, citing post-9/11 authorities used to target foreign terrorist threats.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home—and they will not succeed,” Hegseth declared, vowing the Department of Defense would continue to “track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
President Trump echoed that resolve last week while addressing troops aboard a U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in Japan. “Those drug ships aren’t coming in anymore,” he said. “We can’t find a ship. There’s no ships coming in with drugs.” Clearly, U.S. military intelligence managed to find at least one more.
But not everyone in Washington — or abroad — is on board with the operation.
Senate Democrats issued a formal letter on Friday demanding full transparency regarding the legal basis for the strikes. The request, sent to Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, asked for documentation outlining the groups deemed legitimate military targets. Both Republican and Democrat leaders on the Senate Armed Services Committee have similarly pressed the Department of Defense for legal clarification and a list of designated narco-terrorist entities.
Trump admin takes out another cartel drug boat! pic.twitter.com/lOJgh2P284
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) October 14, 2025
Even international pressure is mounting. Volker Türk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, condemned the campaign as “unacceptable” and accused the U.S. of engaging in extrajudicial killings. “The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats,” he said.
Despite mounting opposition, President Trump has made it clear that the operations will continue. He frames the strikes not only as national security imperatives but as a rejection of political correctness in the name of American safety. “We’re going to defend our country any way we have to,” he told service members. “And that’s usually not the politically correct way.”
