The U.S. military conducted a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday, resulting in the deaths of three men aboard the boat, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. He described the vessel as operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization,” according to Fox News.
Hegseth shared the news in a post on X, accompanied by a short unclassified video clip showing the vessel being struck. He confirmed that the strike occurred in international waters and that no U.S. forces were harmed during the operation.
“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. “The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean and was struck in international waters. No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, and three male narco-terrorists who were aboard the vessel were killed.”
The video footage of the strike was included in the announcement, marking the latest in a series of U.S. maritime strikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels. This campaign began in September and has involved multiple strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. According to Hegseth’s statement and various reporting outlets tracking the operations, approximately 69 to 70 people have been killed cumulatively in these strikes.
Hegseth framed the operation as part of an intensified U.S. effort under the Trump administration to disrupt maritime narcotics routes. In his post, he issued a blunt warning to traffickers:
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs—we will kill you.”
He also reiterated the administration’s messaging that equates drug cartels to extremist threats. President Donald Trump has previously referred to “the cartels as the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.”
These operations have raised questions from lawmakers and oversight officials, who are seeking more details about the legal basis for the strikes, the identities of the groups designated as terrorist organizations, and the evidence linking specific vessels to narcotics trafficking. Some senators and watchdog groups have pressed the administration for the underlying legal opinions and intelligence supporting the use of lethal force in international waters.
Pentagon officials maintain that the strikes aim to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and to target organizations labeled by the administration as threats to U.S. security. Hegseth’s release of video footage from the latest strike follows a pattern of the Defense Department posting short clips on public platforms to document these operations.
Critics argue that the footage and official statements are insufficient substitutes for transparent and verifiable disclosures about targets and the legal authorities involved.
The Trump administration has reaffirmed its commitment to continuing maritime actions against trafficking networks until what officials describe as the “poisoning of the American people” ends. Hegseth’s warning and the announcement of another lethal strike highlight the administration’s willingness to use military force at sea as a key component of its anti-drug strategy.
https://www.lifezette.com/2025/11/hegseth-u-s-strike-in-caribbean-kills-3-warns-narco-traffickers-we-will-kill-you-watch/
