Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the attack was ordered by President Trump, took place in international waters, and targeted a vessel alleged to be operated by a designated terrorist organization.
- Hegseth described the three men killed as "narco‑terrorists" and vowed to treat alleged traffickers like al‑Qaeda, stating U.S. forces will "track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them."
- The strike is at least the 15th since early September against suspected smuggling boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll to roughly the mid‑60s by official tallies.
- The Pentagon released an obfuscated video of the blast but has not provided public evidence tying the boat to narcotics, as U.N. human‑rights chief Volker Türk condemned the killings and urged the U.S. to halt the strikes.
- Bipartisan lawmakers are demanding the administration’s legal opinions and a list of targetable groups, saying recent briefings lacked answers, while the U.S. expands regional forces including the USS Gerald R. Ford and F‑35s in support of the campaign.