Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strike in international waters was directed by President Donald Trump and targeted a vessel run by a designated terrorist organization.
- Hegseth described the dead as three male "narco-terrorists" and said U.S. intelligence showed the boat was carrying narcotics, though no public evidence has been provided.
- The action is at least the 15th known strike since early September in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with official counts placing total fatalities at about 64.
- U.S. force posture in the region has expanded, with Navy ships deployed, F-35s sent to Puerto Rico, and the USS Gerald R. Ford moving to support the campaign.
- U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk and members of Congress have questioned the legality and transparency of the strikes and pressed for the administration’s legal justifications.