The United States has confirmed three new attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, military operations that resulted in the total destruction of the three vessels and left 14 people dead. The announcement was made by U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who on Tuesday morning reported on the operations, stating that one person is believed to have survived the attacks.
The first strike hit a boat carrying eight people, the second struck a vessel with four, and the third hit another with three, Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X. All the attacks took place in international waters, and no U.S. military personnel were injured during the operations, he added.
US confirms 3 new strikes on ‘drug-smuggling boats’ in the Pacific, leaving 14 dead
The United States confirmed on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 28, three new attacks on four alleged drug-smuggling boats, this time in international waters of the eastern Pacific. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth was in charge of announcing the news.
“Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific. The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said on his official X account.
According to the U.S. defense chief, the attacks resulted in a total of 14 deaths, with one injured survivor whose rescue is being coordinated with Mexican authorities, Hegseth reported.
In the same statement, U.S. officials justified this latest attack by arguing that drug trafficking has caused more deaths in the United States than Al-Qaeda, “and they will be treated the same,” defended the Secretary of War — as has been customary in reports following this type of “narco-terrorism” operation, which have been carried out for weeks by the Trump administration both in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.
The four vessels were known by our intelligence… pic.twitter.com/UhoFlZ3jPG
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025
US operations against ‘narco-boats’ in both oceans
To date, the United States claims to have killed 57 “narco-terrorists” since the attacks on alleged narco-boats began in early September. Last Friday, the U.S. government reported that it had taken down another vessel, attributed to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, in an operation in which six people were killed.
Today’s attack is the deadliest against this type of vessel, as never before — during the nearly two months since the operations began — had there been three nearly simultaneous attacks against four alleged narco-boats. Likewise, never before had so many people died in a single day: A total of 14, according to the Department of War.
It is worth recalling that, under the justification of combating drug trafficking, the United States maintains a strong military deployment in international waters of the Caribbean, near Venezuela, which so far has been most evident in these kinds of attacks against alleged narco-boats. However, last week similar attacks also began in the waters of the Pacific Ocean.
These types of operations have faced strong criticism from several Latin American governments and international human rights organizations, being denounced as “extrajudicial executions” since, in addition to violating international law, the United States has so far failed to provide evidence of the alleged illicit activities of those killed.