The United States Department of War has killed two suspected drug traffickers in a military strike on a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organisation in international waters off the Eastern Pacific.
The operation, which took place on Wednesday, targeted a boat believed to be smuggling illegal drugs along a known trafficking route.
Pete Hegseth, the United States Secretary of War, announced the strike in a post on X, stating that it was executed under direct orders from President Donald Trump.
“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization,” Hegseth wrote.
He explained that intelligence reports had confirmed the vessel’s involvement in illegal drug smuggling and indicated it was carrying narcotics whilst travelling along a well-known drug trafficking corridor.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. The strike was conducted in international waters in the Eastern Pacific,” the secretary stated.
According to Hegseth, no American forces sustained injuries during the operation, whilst two men described as “narco-terrorists” who were aboard the vessel were killed in the strike.
The secretary emphasised that the action forms part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to prevent drugs from entering the United States through maritime routes.
“We will find and terminate every vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our top priority. No cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military,” Hegseth declared.
The strike represents an escalation in the United States’ approach to combating drug trafficking, with military forces now authorised to conduct lethal operations against vessels suspected of transporting illegal narcotics.
The operation comes amid heightened tensions over border security and drug trafficking, issues which President Trump has made central to his administration’s domestic security agenda.
