The U.S. military conducted strikes against two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing five alleged drug smugglers, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday. The operation marks an expansion of the Trump administration’s use of the armed forces in its counter-narcotics campaign.
On Wednesday afternoon, Hegseth said U.S. forces struck a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Tuesday, killing two men. It was the first known military operation in the region since U.S. President Donald Trump launched his new campaign against the drug trade.
Hours later, Hegseth said the military had struck another vessel in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, killing three men.
The strikes follow at least seven others in the Caribbean in a campaign that has raised U.S. tensions with Venezuela and Colombia.
"The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route and was carrying narcotics," Hegseth said, without providing evidence, after the latest strike.
He posted around 30 seconds of footage on X, where a vessel was shown travelling in the water before exploding.
At least 32 people have been killed by the strikes in the Caribbean, but the Trump administration hasn't provided many details, including how much alleged narcotics the targeted vessels were carryng or what evidence linked them to drug smuggling.
CBS News was first to report the Tuesday strike in the eastern Pacific.
"The attack on another boat in the Pacific, we don't know if it's Ecuadorean or Colombian, killed people," said Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who is in the midst of a spat with Trump over the boat strikes and tariffs. "It is murder. Whether in the Caribbean or Pacific, the U.S. government strategy breaks the norms of international law."
Colombia's Foreign Ministry said in a separate statement that the U.S. must stop the attacks.
Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa, who has declared war on gangs in his country, expressed support for Trump's anti-narcotics efforts.
Trump, when asked about the strike by reporters in the Oval Office, said his administration had the legal authority to carry it out and that he believed each strike saved American lives.
Trump also addressed the potential for escalation, reiterating plans to strike targets on the ground in Venezuela.
He said if such step is taken, his administration would likely inform the U.S. Congress.
"We'll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we're doing when we come to the land," Trump said. "We don't have to do that, but I think ... I'd like to do that."
The remarks have raised questions over why the U.S. military, rather than Coast Guard - the country's primary law enforcement agency - is carrying out the strikes.
Ananlysts have also questioned why other efforts to stop the shipments haven't been pursued before resorting to deadly strikes.
The strikes in the Pacific come against the backdrop of a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and around 6,500 troops.
In August, the Coast Guard launched an operation, known as Operation Viper, to interdict drugs in the Pacific Ocean. As of 15 October, the Coast Guard said it had seized more than 100,000 pounds (45,000 kg) of cocaine.
Last week, Reuters reported that two alleged drug traffickers survived a U.S. military strike in the Caribbean. They were rescued and brought to a U.S. Navy warship before being repatriated to their home countries of Colombia and Ecuador.
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