Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said two vessels were struck Sunday in the eastern Pacific in international waters, with three people killed on each boat and no U.S. casualties.
- The latest attacks bring the publicly acknowledged tally to about 19 strikes and roughly 75–76 deaths since early September, with operations shifting from the Caribbean toward the eastern Pacific.
- Hegseth said the boats carried narcotics and were run by designated terrorist organizations, but the administration has not publicly provided corroborating evidence.
- The buildup now includes the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group entering U.S. Southern Command’s area, adding to an expanded naval and air presence across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
- Allied and oversight pressures are intensifying, with reports the U.K. and Colombia have curtailed some intelligence sharing, the U.N. human rights chief urging investigations, and Congress seeking legal justifications after a Senate effort to curb authority failed.