Washington — The U.S. military attacked four more vessels suspected of smuggling narcotics in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. announced in X.
The four vessels were hit in three different attacks, Hegseth said. Attacks raise total death toll of Trump presidency Campaign against suspected traffickers in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific number more than 50.
“The four vessels were known to our intelligence apparatus, were transiting known drug trafficking routes and were transporting narcotics,” Hegseth wrote. “Eight male narcoterrorists were aboard the vessels during the first attack. Four male narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the second attack. Three male narcoterrorists were aboard the vessel during the third attack. A total of 14 narcoterrorists were killed during the three attacks, with one survivor. All attacks were conducted in international waters and no U.S. forces were injured.”
He added: “These narcoterrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, connect them, and then hunt them down and kill them.”
Hegseth said U.S. military personnel immediately began search and rescue operations for the survivor, and Mexican authorities assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue. It is unclear what happened to the survivor from there.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed in a press conference Tuesday morning that the attack occurred in international waters and that the Mexican Navy rescued one person.
in a statementThe Mexican Navy confirmed that it was “conducting a maritime search and rescue operation 400 miles southwest of Acapulco” at the request of the US Coast Guard.
Trump, currently on a multi-day trip to Asia, has said his administration will provide information about the attacks to Congress but will not seek a declaration of war.
“I think we’re just going to kill the people who are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know, they’re going to be as good as dead,” he said last week.
Trump also said ground attacks in Venezuela could be next, amid rising tensions between the two countries.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., called the military airstrikes against the ships “extrajudicial killings.” Paul told “Fox News Sunday” this week that Congress has not received “any information” about the strike campaign from the administration.
