The U.S. military on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025, launched its ninth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing three people in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a post on X. (Screengrab from Hegseth post on X)

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military killed three individuals in a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said. “These strikes will continue, day after day. These [drug terrorist organizations] are the ‘al-Qaida’ of our hemisphere and will not escape justice,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “We will find them and kill them, until the threat to the American people is extinguished.” No U.S. forces were harmed in the operation. Hegseth’s post included a 26-second clip of the strike. The latest operation is at least the ninth known strike conducted in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility since September. The strikes come following a buildup of maritime forces in the region, including eight surface warships and more than 6,000 sailors and Marines. The operations have killed at least 37 people. This is the second strike this week conducted in the eastern Pacific; the previous operations were conducted in the Caribbean Sea.