Overview
- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the strike on X and said the target was a vessel operated by a designated terrorist organization at the president’s direction.
- This was about the 20th operation this year, with reported totals indicating roughly 69 to 70 people killed across the maritime campaign since September.
- Officials said the action took place in international waters in the Caribbean off Venezuela and alleged the boat was transporting narcotics; no identities were released.
- A Democratic bid to limit the administration’s maritime operations failed in the Senate by a 49–51 vote, allowing the campaign to continue.
- Legal experts and international organizations dispute the armed-conflict rationale and warn the strikes risk amounting to extrajudicial executions.