The US military carried out another lethal strike on a vessel operated by a drug trafficking organization in the Caribbean, killing three men aboard, Defense secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Saturday. The operation, directed by President Donald Trump, took place in international waters, and no US forces were harmed, Hegseth said in a post on X.
“This vessel - like EVERY OTHER - was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote. “These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home—and they will not succeed. The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
The targeted group was described as a US-designated terrorist organization, though Hegseth did not specify which group was hit. This is at least the 15th such strike by US forces in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September, part of a broader campaign that has killed at least 64 people.
President Trump has justified the strikes as part of an armed conflict against drug cartels, relying on legal authority similar to that used after the September 11, 2001, attacks. Lawmakers have repeatedly requested additional information on the legal basis for these strikes and details about the groups and individuals targeted.
On Friday, a group of Senate Democrats, including minority leader Chuck Schumer, sent a letter to Hegseth, secretary of state Marco Rubio, and director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, asking for the administration’s legal opinions and a list of designated targetable organizations. The senators wrote that the administration “has selectively shared what has at times been contradictory information” with some members while excluding others.
Earlier letters from the Republican and Democratic leaders of the senate armed services Committee also sought similar details about the strikes and the rationale for labeling drug cartels as terrorist organizations.
(With inputs from agencies)
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