14 killed in US strikes targeting narco-traffickers

Washington: The US military carried out three strikes on four vessels allegedly trafficking narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on X on Tuesday.

Hegseth said the vessels were hit in separate operations ordered by President Donald Trump.

The latest strikes bring the total death toll in Trump’s campaign against alleged traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific to more than 50 since early September.

“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote.

“Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike. Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed.”

Following the attacks, Hegseth said US forces immediately launched a search-and-rescue mission for the survivor. Mexican maritime authorities later assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue effort.

He did not release any information on the survivor’s condition or whereabouts.

The strikes mark the latest escalation in Washington’s campaign to target what the Trump administration has labelled “narco-terrorist networks.”

Earlier this month, US forces destroyed multiple boats and aircraft suspected of smuggling operations in the Caribbean.

Multiple operations have been conducted since the campaign began in September.

Hegseth described the ongoing mission as a shift from defending foreign territories to confronting threats closer to home.

“These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same,” he said.

“We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.”

Last week, the Pentagon announced the deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to the Caribbean.

The carrier, equipped with stealth fighter jets and surveillance aircraft, is being repositioned from the Mediterranean to waters off Venezuela.

The strikes and the carrier deployment have drawn domestic and international attention, and lawmakers have pressed the administration for additional details about legal authorisation, targeting procedures and efforts to limit civilian harm.

IANS