Previous deadly attacks have targeted alleged narco-traffickers in the Caribbean Sea
The US has killed five people in attacks on two alleged drug smuggling boats in the Pacific Ocean, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegset. Previous US operations, which Washington says target illicit narcotics trafficking, have focused on the Caribbean Sea off Venezuela.
The strikes, carried out on Tuesday and Wednesday, targeted vessels “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling” and were ordered by President Donald Trump, Hegseth said on X on Wednesday. He added that the “strikes will continue” until all “narco-terrorists” are eliminated.
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. The vessel was known by our intelligence to be… pic.twitter.com/BayDhUZ4Ac
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 22, 2025
According to Politico, a strike on Tuesday, which killed two, was carried out “somewhere off the western coast of Colombia,” with Washington targeting “a new country of origin” of alleged drugs flows. The Trump administration provided no details to back up its claims that the people killed were involved in narcotics trafficking, noted the outlet.
Washington has accused both Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro and Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro of enabling or turning a blind eye to drug trafficking through their territories — allegations that both leaders have strongly denied.
Following similar attacks in the Caribbean earlier this month, Petro condemned the raids as “an aggression against all of Latin America and the Caribbean,” claiming one of the targeted vessels was carrying Colombian citizens. He argued that Washington’s campaign was less about fighting drugs and more about asserting control over the region’s natural resources.
Petro has held a longstanding feud with Trump, who he accused of violating human rights during his crackdown on illegal immigrants. Last month, the US revoked Petro’s visa after he called on American soldiers to disobey Trump’s orders.
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Venezuelan officials, meanwhile, say the strikes form part of a broader US effort to depose Maduro — a position echoed by Russia. Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, earlier this month accused Washington of plotting a coup in Venezuela under the guise of an anti-drug campaign.
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