The U.S. military has conducted another offensive against what it identifies as a narco-terror vessel in the Caribbean, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. This move highlights an expanding initiative targeting militants involved with drug trafficking.
The recent operation resulted in the deaths of three individuals suspected of smuggling activities. Hegseth stated that the strike was executed “under the direction of President Trump.”
“Today, the Department of War executed a lethal kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean,” Hegseth announced via the social media platform X.
He elaborated, saying, “This vessel, like all others intercepted, was identified by our intelligence as part of illicit narcotics smuggling, navigating well-known drug trafficking routes while transporting narcotics.”
During a joint press conference with Japan’s Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi in Tokyo on October 29, 2025, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth emphasized the ongoing threat. (Eugene Hoshiko / POOL / AFP)
Hegseth further declared, “These narco-terrorists are attempting to bring drugs into our country to harm Americans, but they will not succeed.” He assured that the U.S. military intends to confront them with the same determination shown toward Al Qaeda, stating, “We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and eliminate them.”
Saturday’s announcement marks the 15th known U.S. operation against suspected narco-terror groups in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, part of what Hegseth has called an ongoing “maritime offensive” against transnational cartels.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirms that the US carried out a deadly strike on a vessel operated by alleged narco-terrorists in the Caribbean Sea on October 24, 2025. (Department of War)
The U.S. military has now killed at least 64 people in these operations, according to defense officials familiar with the campaign.
President Donald Trump has defended the strikes as a hardline measure to disrupt the flow of drugs into the United States, arguing that cartels have evolved into transnational terror organizations and that America is engaged in an “armed conflict” with them under the same authority invoked after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The White House has pushed back against calls from lawmakers demanding more transparency on the legal rationale behind the operations — including which groups are being targeted and how force is being authorized.
War Secretary Pete Hegseth briefs reporters during a press conference. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images )
Senate Democrats renewed their calls for answers on Friday, sending a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Hegseth that urged the administration to disclose its legal justifications and the list of entities deemed targetable under the president’s directive.
“We also request that you provide all legal opinions related to these strikes and a list of the groups or other entities the President has deemed targetable,” the senators wrote.
The letter — signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several senior Democrats including Sens. Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen — accuses the administration of selectively releasing conflicting information to certain lawmakers while leaving 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 outline its legal framework for the strikes and to identify which cartels the administration has formally labeled as terrorist organizations.
