The U.S. military confirmed Thursday that four individuals were killed in a strike on a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific. This marks the latest operation in a growing counter-narcotics campaign that has attracted increasing scrutiny.
According to a post by U.S. Southern Command on X, the strike was carried out by Joint Task Force Southern Spear on the orders of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Intelligence indicated that the vessel, operated by a “designated terrorist organization,” was transporting illicit narcotics along a known trafficking route. The post stated, “four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” and included a brief video showing the boat speeding through the water before being hit by an explosion.
Hegseth later commented on X, referencing the operation: “Your wish is our command, Andrew. Just sunk another narco boat,” in response to a request for action against another suspected drug vessel.
The incident followed the release of classified footage shown to lawmakers, depicting a separate U.S. military operation in early September. In that case, U.S. forces targeted a vessel previously destroyed in a previous engagement, killing two survivors.
Representative Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, described the footage as “one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service.” He argued the video showed U.S. forces attacking shipwrecked sailors in distress, emphasizing that they posed no immediate threat. “Two individuals in clear distress, with no means of escape, on a destroyed vessel, were killed by the United States,” he said.
Republican Representative Don Bacon also expressed concerns on CNN, asserting that “rules of war” prohibit killing survivors unless there is an “imminent threat,” which he claimed was not present in this case. However, Senator Tom Cotton defended the operation, arguing that the strikes were lawful and necessary. “The first, second, third, and fourth strikes on September 2 were entirely lawful and needful,” Cotton said, suggesting the survivors were trying to flip the boat, which was still loaded with drugs.
Both the White House and Pentagon have sought to distance Hegseth from the decision to target the survivors, clarifying that operational responsibility rested with Admiral Frank Bradley, who directly supervised the mission. Lawmakers were told Bradley confirmed Hegseth did not order the killing of all crew members. However, Representative Bacon maintained that Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense, is ultimately accountable for the operation.
The Trump administration has framed the campaign as part of a broader effort against “narco-terrorists,” deploying significant naval resources to the Caribbean for counter-narcotics operations. These actions have sparked tensions in the region, with Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro accusing Washington of using drug enforcement as a cover for attempting to impose regime change in Caracas.
