A screenshot of video shared on X by "Secretary of War" Pete Hegseth showing a deadly strike on an alleged drug smuggling vessel near Venezuela.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced a U.S. military strike against a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in international waters off Venezuela, resulting in the death of four individuals described as “narco-terrorists.”
The operation, directed by President Trump, targeted a vessel allegedly transporting substantial amounts of narcotics bound for the United States.
“Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route,” Hegseth stated. “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!”
This latest operation comes as the Trump administration has formally determined that the United States is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, according to documentation provided to Congress justifying the legal basis for deadly strikes.
The U.S. military has now conducted at least four such strikes against suspected drug boats in the past month, resulting in at least 21 fatalities.
Legal experts have raised questions about the use of military force rather than maritime law enforcement agencies like the Coast Guard, which traditionally handle such interdictions. They also question why non-lethal methods to stop these shipments aren’t attempted before resorting to deadly force.
President Trump has defended the strategy, claiming each intercepted vessel carries enough narcotics to kill tens of thousands. Speaking to military leaders in Quantico, Virginia, he suggested the operations are already proving effective: “Now we have a problem. General Caine says, sir, there are no boats out there, not even fishing boats. They don’t want to go fishing.”
The administration recently designated these cartels as terrorist organizations and has indicated it may extend operations to target cartels “coming by land” in Venezuela, a move that could further escalate legal concerns.
Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, criticized the administration’s approach: “Every American should be alarmed that their president has decided he can wage secret wars against anyone he calls an enemy.”
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The Trump administration has determined that the US is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, according to a notification to Congress, offering further legal justification for recent strikes on alleged drug-runners from Venezuela.
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