Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said two vessels in the eastern Pacific were destroyed on Nov. 9 at the direction of President Trump, with all six people aboard killed and no U.S. casualties.
- Hegseth asserted the boats were operated by designated terrorist organizations, carried narcotics, and were struck in international waters, releasing video of the attacks but no verifying evidence.
- The latest operations raise the toll since September to roughly 75–76 dead and about 19–20 vessels destroyed, as the campaign extends from the Caribbean toward the eastern Pacific.
- UN High Commissioner Volker Türk warned of strong indications of extrajudicial executions and called for a transparent, independent probe, while Venezuela and other regional voices denounce the strikes as illegal.
- The U.S. has surged forces to the region, with reports of a carrier group and a nuclear submarine deployed and troops sent to Panama for jungle training, as congressional scrutiny of legal justifications continues after a failed bid to curb presidential authority.