Overview
- The Pentagon said two suspects were killed on Tuesday and three on Wednesday in international waters off the Pacific coast of Latin America.
- Defense chief Pete Hegseth posted strike footage and argued cartels are waging war comparable to Al-Qaida.
- The White House asserts an armed-conflict authority and designates cartel actors as unlawful combatants, but it has not released independent proof the boats carried drugs.
- Earlier attacks in the Caribbean left more than 30 dead, drawing accusations from Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro that a fisherman was killed and that Colombian sovereignty was violated.
- The United Nations urged restraint and US lawmakers from both parties questioned the legal basis and the lack of congressional authorization for the operations.