Hegseth says military conducted another strike on boat carrying alleged narco-terrorists

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth reported that the U S military on Wednesday struck another boat carrying people he states were narco-terrorists The strikes were carried out in the Eastern Pacific region at the direction of President Donald Trump killing four men on board according to Hegseth The military carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization DTO in the Eastern Pacific Hegseth wrote on X This vessel like all the others was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling was transiting along a known narco-trafficking way and carrying narcotics he noted Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel and killed during the strike which was conducted in international waters No U S forces were harmed in this strike US STRIKES ANOTHER ALLEGED DRUG-TRAFFICKING BOAT NEAR VENEZUELA KILLING The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans Hegseth added The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate This is the th strike on suspected drug boats carried out since September A total of have reportedly been killed while three survived including at least two who were later repatriated to their home countries The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed or evidence of drugs on board US DEPLOYS FORD CARRIER STRIKE GROUP TO COMBAT NARCO-TERROR IN WESTERN HEMISPHEREThe Trump administration has been scrutinized in current weeks over the strikes including by Sen Rand Paul R-Ky who raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people Paul has cited Coast Guard statistics that show a crucial percentage of boats boarded for suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent The senator has also argued that if the administration plans to engage in a war with Venezuela as it has targeted boats it suggests are transporting drugs for the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua gang it must seek a declaration of war from Congress Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee also penned a letter on Wednesday demanding to review the legal justification behind the series of boat strikes they say appear to violate several laws Drug trafficking is a terrible crime that has had devastating impacts on American families and communities and should be prosecuted Nonetheless the President s actions to hold alleged drug traffickers accountable must still conform with the law the letter reads