Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the strike took place in international waters near Colombia and reported no U.S. injuries.
- U.S. intelligence assessed the targeted vessel was smuggling narcotics along a known trafficking route.
- The action is the 16th known lethal strike in the campaign, with 67 people killed across 17 targeted boats, according to official and media tallies.
- Operations that began in the Caribbean shifted into the eastern Pacific in late October as the campaign expanded along routes off Colombia.
- The administration has notified Congress it considers the effort an armed conflict against cartels and asserts authority for lethal strikes based on a classified DOJ conclusion.