U.S. Expands Anti-Drug Strikes to Pacific Waters, Five Reported Dead

 

U.S. Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, seen here at a meeting in Belgium earlier this month, said Wednesday that the U.S. military had launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The U.S. military has carried out two additional strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, marking a significant expansion of its campaign against narco-trafficking networks.

According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the first strike late Tuesday killed two people aboard a suspected drug-trafficking boat. Less than 24 hours later, a second strike in the same region left three more dead. These operations bring the total number of U.S. strikes on suspected drug vessels to nine since the campaign began last month, with at least 37 fatalities reported so far.

Until now, the majority of U.S. actions had targeted boats in the Caribbean Sea. The shift to the Pacific underscores a broader strategy to disrupt cocaine smuggling routes originating from South America, where the world’s largest producers operate.

Officials have compared the crackdown to the U.S. “war on terror” launched after the September 11 attacks, framing the strikes as part of a wider armed conflict against drug cartels with alleged ties to terrorist organizations.

The escalation highlights Washington’s determination to expand its reach in combating transnational narcotics trafficking, though it has also raised questions about the scope and implications of military involvement in anti-drug operations.