U.S. kills 14 in strikes on alleged drug boats
By: Josy Garrison
and Davis Winkie
USA Today
WASHINGTON - The Pentagon on October 28 [2025] said it carried out three strikes on four alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people.
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It's the most significant wave of attacks so far in President Donald Trump's military campaign targeting the flow of illegal narcotics.
..... The assaults brought the total number of air strikes on boats to 13 - and total deaths to at least 57 - in a campaign that has drawn criticism form Democrats who question the legality of using deadly military force on targets that don't pose immediate threats to the United States. while the majority of the strikes have taken place in the Caribbean, the Department of war, formally know as the Department of Defense, on October 21, [2025] conducted its first attack in the Pacific, west of Central America.
..... Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the latest strikes took place on October 27 [2025] in international waters. There was one survivor, eh said. No U.S. service members were injured.
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"The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending oth4e homelands,: Hegseth wrote in a post on X that included video footage of the strikes. "Now we're defending our own. These narcs-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hurt and kill them."
..... Yet Trump still has not delivered evidence to Congress supporting claims that any of the alleged drug boats were carrying narcotics. Democrats in Congress have said they've received no information about the enteritides of those killed or the intelligence that showed the boats were trying to transport drugs into the United States.
..... In February, [2025] Trump designated some drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," a move administration officials argue gives them legal justification for the strikes.
..... A larger campaign could be looming. Trump has blamed Venezuela and its president, Nicolas Maduro, for drugs originating from Venezuelan cartels illegally entering the United States. Trump recently said he is considering military actions on land tarts in Venezuela after hailing the maritime attacks as a success.
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The administration in recent months has also steadily built up military forces in the Caribbean, fueling speculation on whether Maduro himself is a target of the campaign.
..... The U.S. Navy has at least eight ships in the region, including three guided missile destroyers and a missile cruiser capable of launching Tomahawk guided missiles into Venezuela's interior. Thousands of Marines are embarked abroad the ships, including infant units with landing ships and Osprey aircraft that would enable them to operate on land.
..... Hegseth recently ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier - the largest warship in the world - to deploy to the South American coast along with three additional guided missile destroyers.
..... In addition, land-based Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets deployed to a base in Puerto Rico, and special operations troops are also deployed to the region.