US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said the latest attack destroyed what he described as a “drug trafficking vessel” operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization.”
He released a video of the strike on X, claiming it occurred in international waters, according to The Guardian.
No US personnel were injured, Hegseth said.
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs,” he wrote.
The assault marked at least the eighteenth vessel destroyed since early September, when the Trump administration began targeting boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
So far, 17 boats and one semi-submersible have been hit, bringing the total reported death toll to at least 70.
Washington has yet to release evidence proving that the destroyed vessels were smuggling narcotics or posed any immediate threat to the United States.
Critics, including international law experts, say the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings under the guise of counter-narcotics operations.
The families of those killed say many of the dead were civilians, mostly fishermen.
President Donald Trump’s administration has reinforced its military presence in the region, deploying six Navy ships in the Caribbean, F-35 stealth jets to Puerto Rico, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group nearby.
MA/PR
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