U.S. attacks alleged drug boats off Mexico’s coast
MEXICO CITY — The Trump administration expanded its war against so-called drug boats, announcing Tuesday that it had attacked four ships off what it said was Mexico’s Pacific coast, a move condemned by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The Pentagon said 14 people were killed in multiple attacks in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday. One of the survivors was rescued by the Mexican navy, according to the Pentagon and Sheinbaum.
At his daily news conference Tuesday morning, Sheinbaum condemned the attacks and said he had asked Mexico’s ambassador to the United States to discuss the issue with officials in Washington.
“We do not accept the way these attacks were carried out,” Sheinbaum said. “We want all international agreements to be respected.”
The Pentagon did not provide the exact geographical coordinates of the attacks. In a post on
The latest attacks mark a new stage in the US campaign against alleged drug trafficking. In recent months, the military has deployed thousands of troops, warships and warplanes in the Caribbean Ocean to combat drug traffickers that White House officials call “narco terrorists.”
At least 57 people have been killed in a series of US attacks on alleged smugglers in the Caribbean and Pacific. Many experts say the attacks violate U.S. and international law.
The strikes caused great reactions in Latin America. After Colombian President Gustavo Petro criticized the United States for “killing” Colombian civilians in attacks off his country’s coast, the U.S. Treasury Department responded by imposing sanctions on him and several members of his family.
US officials have been warning for months that they might launch attacks on drug trafficking targets in Mexico. Sheinbaum has repeatedly said he opposes unilateral U.S. military intervention in his country and that Mexico would consider such an attack an act of war.
But with his administration now locked in negotiations with the White House over President Trump’s goal of raising tariffs on Mexican imports, Sheinbaum has had to tread carefully. He said Monday that he spoke with Trump over the weekend and that the U.S. agreed to give Mexico more time to make trade policy changes to avoid an increase in tariffs scheduled to take effect this week.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted footage of Monday’s attacks on social media; In these images, two boats were seen moving quickly in the water. One is visibly loaded with a large amount of packages or packets. Both then suddenly explode and are seen bursting into flames.
The third attack appears to have been carried out on a pair of boats standing side by side in the water. They appear to be largely empty, and at least two people appear to be moving about before an explosion rocks both boats.
Hegseth said “the four ships were known to our intelligence apparatus, transited known drug smuggling routes and were carrying narcotics.”
