By James Morley III | Tuesday, 04 November 2025 09:30 PM EST
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday evening that U.S. forces executed a military strike in the Eastern Pacific against a vessel linked to drug trafficking, resulting in the deaths of two individuals identified as “narco-terrorists.”
“Today, at the direction of President [Donald] Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO),” Hegseth stated on X. He explained that the operation occurred in international waters after intelligence confirmed the vessel was engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling along a known narco-trafficking route, transporting a shipment of drugs.
The Trump administration has faced criticism over the legality of such actions, asserting that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels associated with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. The Department of War confirmed that two male “narco-terrorists” were killed in Tuesday’s strike, with no U.S. personnel harmed.
Department of War officials met with the House Armed Services Committee last week to address bipartisan demands for clearer legal justification for recent lethal operations. The White House has maintained that these strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific do not constitute “hostilities” under the War Powers Resolution, thereby bypassing congressional approval requirements.
Hegseth emphasized the administration’s commitment to disrupting drug trafficking, stating, “We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens.” He concluded, “Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority. NO cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military.”
