2 killed in latest U.S. strike on alleged drug boat in the Pacific, Hegseth says

U.S. forces conducted another strike Tuesday on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reported.

The attack was carried out at the direction of President Trump, Hegseth said in a social media post that included unclassified video of the strike.

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said.

“Two male narco-terrorists” aboard the vessel were killed, the defense secretary added, noting that no U.S. personnel were killed in the operation. No further information was provided.

Dating back to early September, the Trump administration has reported well over a dozen such strikes in the waters of the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean off South America on what it alleges are drug vessels. The strikes have killed more than 50 people.

Outside of the unclassified videos released by the Defense Department, the U.S. has provided no details on the boats that were struck or about the people aboard.

The White House says they are part of an effort to cripple the operations of drug cartels. Some lawmakers have criticized the strikes, saying the White House has not provided enough evidence the boats were smuggling drugs and with some insisting the president needs congressional approval to carry out the strikes.

Mr. Trump on Oct. 23 told reporters, “Well, I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be like, dead.”

Several of the strikes have occurred off the coast of Venezuela, as Mr. Trump has been vocal in his criticism of controversial Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and amid a broader buildup of U.S. military assetts 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 yeah. I think so, yeah.”

Mr. Trump last month also confirmed that he had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration designated several cartels as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s notorious Tren de Aragua.

The Pentagon has meanwhile ramped up its presence in Latin America’s waters, deploying eight military vessels to the region. Last month the Pentagon announced it was also sending the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the area as well.

USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, has passed through the Strait of Gibraltar headed for the Caribbean, CBS News learned Tuesday, along with USS Bainbridge, a destroyer.