Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said ballistic-missile strikes, ordered by President Trump, hit two boats in the eastern Pacific in international waters.
- The Pentagon described the craft as operated by designated terrorist organizations with three people aboard each and reported no U.S. casualties.
- With the latest attacks, reporting tallies roughly 19–20 strikes since September and about 75–76 deaths, with only a handful of survivors.
- U.S. officials assert the boats were narcotics-linked, but the administration has not released corroborating evidence despite mounting demands from families, experts and some lawmakers.
- A Senate effort to limit presidential authority over the campaign failed 51–49 as the U.S. expands a major naval deployment, drawing regional condemnation led by Venezuela and calls for scrutiny.