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2 boats struck in the Pacific as US continues drug pushback; toll climbs to 37
Three people, whom Pete Hegseth referred to as ‘narco-terrorists’, were killed in the strike on Wednesday and no US forces were harmed.
The United States' department of war launched a “lethal kinetic strike” on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific ocean on Wednesday (local time), said secretary of war Pete Hegseth. He said that the strike was carried on the directions of US President Donald Trump.
Three people, whom Hegseth referred to as ‘narco-terrorists’, were killed in the strike and no US forces were harmed.
Hegseth also claimed that the vessel was operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) and that they had intelligence that it was “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and was carrying narcotics.”
The secretary of war also shared a video of the strike on X (formerly Twitter), in which, a vessel is seen being blown up in flames through a camera's reticle.
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“These strikes will continue, day after day. These are not simply drug runners—these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities. These DTOs are the “Al Qaeda” of our hemisphere and will not escape justice. We will find them and kill them, until the threat to the American people is extinguished,” he wrote in the post.
Second strike in two days in Pacific
Earlier in the day, Hegseth said that the US carried out a similar strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in eastern Pacific on Tuesday, in which, two people were killed.
“Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere. Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness—only justice,” the war secretary wrote in a post on X.
Death toll of US strikes on ‘drug-carrying’ vessels now 37
The United States forces began attacking vessels allegedly involved in narco-trafficking last month and has conducted nine such strikes so far.
With Wednesday's strike, the total number of people who have been killed in such attacks is 37.
While the latest two strikes were carried out in eastern Pacific Ocean, last seven were conducted in the Caribbean.
