Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Sunday’s dual strikes in international waters hit vessels he described as operated by designated terrorist organizations and carrying narcotics, with three males killed on each boat and no U.S. casualties.
- The latest attacks raise the publicly acknowledged campaign to about 19 strikes and roughly 75–76 deaths since early September, with operations shifting from the Caribbean into the eastern Pacific.
- Despite releasing strike videos, the administration has not provided corroborating evidence that the targeted boats carried drugs, and bipartisan lawmakers continue to press for legal justification and transparency after recent classified briefings.
- U.N. human rights officials have urged investigations and warned of likely legal violations, Venezuela has denounced the actions as illegal aggression, and media reports say the U.K. has paused some intelligence sharing over legality concerns.
- The U.S. has surged forces into the region, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group has now arrived in the Caribbean, expanding an already large military presence as questions grow over the scope and objectives of the operation.