War Department launches 15th strike in Trump’s anti-cartel campaign
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The US military has launched a new attack on what it calls a narco-terrorist ship in the Caribbean, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, underscoring a widening campaign against drug-related militants.
Hegseth said that three suspected smugglers were killed in the attack, adding that the attack was carried out “on the instructions of President Trump.”
“Today, the War Department conducted a deadly kinetic attack on another drug smuggling vessel operated by the Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean,” Hegseth wrote to X.
He continued: “This ship – like OTHERS – was known to our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics trafficking, was passing through a known drug trafficking route and was carrying narcotics.”
USA HIT ANOTHER SHIP, ALLEGEDLY TRAFFICKING DRUGS, NEAR VENEZUELA, 4 PEOPLE KILLED
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks at a joint press conference with Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi in Tokyo, October 29, 2025. (Eugene Hoshiko / POOL / AFP)
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home, and they will not succeed,” Hegseth added, promising to give them the same treatment the U.S. military has given al-Qaeda: “We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
Saturday’s announcement marks the 15th known U.S. operation against suspected narco-terrorist groups in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September; it’s part of what Hegseth calls an ongoing “maritime offensive” against transnational cartels.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed that the United States carried out a deadly attack on a ship operated by alleged narco-terrorists in the Caribbean Sea on October 24, 2025. (Ministry of War)
The U.S. military has now killed at least 64 people in those operations, according to defense officials familiar with the campaign.
HEGSETH SAID THAT THE ARMY MADE A NEW ATTACK ON THE BOAT ALLEGED TO BE A NARCO TERRORISM
President Donald Trump argued that the attacks were a harsh measure to prevent the flow of drugs into the United States, claiming that the cartels had become transnational terrorist organizations and that America had entered into a “gunfight” with the cartels under the same authority invoked after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The White House has resisted calls from lawmakers demanding greater transparency about the legal reasoning behind the operations, including which groups were targeted and how the force was authorized.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth briefs reporters during a press conference. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Senate Democrats renewed their calls for a response Friday, sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Hegseth urging the administration to explain its legal reasoning and list of organizations that could be targeted under the president’s directive.
“We also request that you provide any legal opinions regarding these attacks and a list of groups or other organizations that the President has considered as targets,” the senators said. he said.
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The letter, signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several top Democrats, including Sens. Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen, accuses the administration of selectively disclosing conflicting information to some lawmakers while keeping others in the dark.
Separately, the bipartisan leadership of the Senate Armed Services Committee released two previously undisclosed letters sent to Hegseth in late September and early October, pressing the Pentagon to set its legal framework for the attacks and determine which cartels the administration has officially labeled as terrorist organizations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
