US Strikes Kill 14 in Pacific Drug-Smuggling Boats

US Strikes Kill 14 in Pacific Drug-Smuggling Boats

US forces killed 14 people in strikes that destroyed four suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, raising the death toll from Washington’s broader anti-narcotics campaign to at least 57.

The strikes — which experts say may amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers — began in early September and have since destroyed at least 14 vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific.

In three strikes on Monday in international waters, 14 people described by Hegseth as “narco-terrorists” were killed and one survived, he said in a post on X, marking the deadliest day of the campaign so far. “The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” he added.

Hegseth said: “We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.” Washington has not publicly released evidence showing the targeted vessels were carrying narcotics or posed a direct threat to the United States.

The Pentagon’s post included video of the strikes. The first strike appeared to target two stationary boats moored together, while the others hit vessels that were moving at speed across open water.

Hegseth said US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) immediately began searching for the lone survivor and that Mexican authorities “accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue.” He did not specify whether the survivor was found; SOUTHCOM referred questions about the survivor to Mexico. Mexico’s navy said it was searching about 400 nautical miles (740 kilometres) southwest of Acapulco.

The interdiction operation has prompted a significant US military buildup in the region, with seven Navy warships, F-35 stealth jets and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group deployed — a marked increase in firepower that has coincided with shows of force by B-52 and B-1B bombers near Venezuela’s coast.

Regional tensions have risen. Venezuela has accused the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, while Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa, a close US ally, said his country could host a foreign military base in the Galápagos Islands to help combat drug and fuel trafficking and illegal fishing. Noboa did not name any specific country but said “various countries,” including the United States, had been discussed.