US strikes drug-smuggling boats in Pacific, 14 killed

WASHINGTON(US): The United States military carried out multiple strikes on four boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.

In a post on X, Pete Hegseth stated that the four vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and carrying narcotics. The strikes are part of President Donald Trump’s intensified campaign against suspected drug-smuggling networks operating in international waters.

According to Hegseth, Mexican authorities have taken over the search and rescue operation for the sole survivor. The latest operation marked the first time that several strikes were conducted on the same day under the new campaign.

“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics. 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,” Pete Hegseth said in a post on X.

Regarding the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated Search and Rescue (SAR) standard protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue,” he added.

The strikes have brought the total number of U.S. military operations targeting drug-smuggling boats to 13 since early September. In total, 14 vessels have been destroyed and 57 people killed, with three survivors reported so far, CNN reported.

The Trump administration last week expanded the scope of its campaign to the eastern Pacific, after earlier strikes targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea. Earlier this month, two survivors of a similar strike in the Caribbean were detained by the U.S. Navy before being repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said during her daily press briefing that her government had been informed of Monday’s operation and the potential survivor. “These events occurred in international waters,” she said, adding that she had directed Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente to coordinate with U.S. Ambassador Ron Johnson and Mexico’s Navy Secretariat for further details, as reported by CNN.

CNN earlier reported that the Trump administration had produced a classified legal opinion justifying the use of lethal force against drug traffickers by categorising them as enemy combatants, allowing such strikes without judicial review. (ANI)