**U.S. Military Conducts Another Lethal Strike on Alleged Drug Smugglers in the Caribbean Sea**
The U.S. military has carried out another lethal strike targeting alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Saturday. In a social media post, Hegseth stated that the vessel involved was operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, though he did not specify which group was targeted. The strike resulted in the deaths of three individuals.
This marks at least the 15th such strike conducted by the U.S. military in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific since early September. To date, at least 64 people have been killed in these operations.
“This vessel—like every other—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said in his social media post. He also confirmed that no U.S. forces were harmed in the strike.
The announcement comes shortly after the Pentagon revealed plans on October 24 to deploy the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s newest and most advanced aircraft carrier, to waters off Latin America. This deployment significantly increases the number of service members and ships involved in the Trump administration’s intensified campaign to counter narcotics traffickers in the region.
President Trump has justified these strikes as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States. He has characterized the conflict with drug cartels as an “armed conflict,” citing the same legal authority used by the Bush administration during the war on terrorism following the September 11, 2001 attacks.
However, the White House has consistently declined U.S. lawmakers’ requests for detailed information regarding the legal justification for the strikes, as well as specifics on which cartels have been targeted and the identities of those killed.
In his Saturday post announcing the latest strike, Hegseth declared, “Narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home,” adding that the Defense Department “will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda.”
The strikes have also drawn international criticism. Colombian President Gustavo Petro told CBS News in an exclusive interview on October 24 that some of the victims of U.S. strikes have been innocent civilians. He also reiterated accusations that the attacks violate international law.
Back in the United States, Senate Democrats renewed their call for transparency in a letter sent Friday to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Defense Secretary Hegseth. The letter requested all legal opinions related to the strikes, as well as a list of groups or entities deemed targetable by the President.
Among the signatories were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Jack Reed, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Warner, Chris Coons, Patty Murray, and Brian Schatz. The letter criticized the administration for “selectively sharing what has at times been contradictory information” with some members of Congress while excluding others.
Earlier on Friday, the Republican chairman and ranking Democrat of the Senate Armed Services Committee also sent separate letters to Hegseth, written in late September and early October. These letters requested the department’s legal rationale for the strikes and sought the list of drug cartels the Trump administration has designated as terrorist organizations to justify military action.
Defense Secretary Hegseth is currently on a tour of Asia and met Sunday with Vietnamese President Luong Cuong during his trip.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-strikes-lethal-alleged-drug-carriers-caribbean/