The latest in a series of strikes on boats accusing of ferrying drugs killed six people two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday, Nov. 10, 2025, in a post on X. (Screen capture from video on X)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. struck two alleged drug boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, killing six people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Monday morning.
No U.S. forces were harmed in the strikes, Hegseth said in a post on X.
The secretary posted a 36-second clip of the boats being struck. One boat is seen as being stationary in the ocean before being struck; the other boat, containing a large parcel or bundle of supplies, is seen moving through the water at high speed.
“Under President [Donald] Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people,” Hegseth said.
Shortly after taking office, Trump designated several drug cartels as terrorist organizations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua. His administration has asserted that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with cartels and will treat their members as “unlawful combatants.”
Hegseth’s post came after attending the Washington Commanders game with Trump on Sunday. The president at the game swore in new military enlistees.
The latest incident marks the Trump administration’s 18th and 19th known strikes against alleged drug traffickers at sea, which have killed at least 75 people.
The U.S. has conducted operations in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility since September.
Most strikes have taken place in the Caribbean, near Venezuela, though an increasing number are happening in the eastern Pacific.
The Senate last week rejected a bipartisan resolution to block Trump from conducting strikes against Venezuela as the U.S. continued to send troops and military assets to the region.
The looming arrival of the Ford Carrier Strike Group in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility would concentrate nearly 20% of the Navy’s deployed warships in the region. Hegseth announced the carrier group’s deployment last month.
Reports on whether the U.S. will strike Venezuela directly, possibly to cause a regime change, are conflicting. The Miami Herald reported last week that strikes on military installations in Venezuela could come “within days,” and a Democratic lawmaker told the Associated Press on Wednesday that information presented by the administration indicated the strikes do not aim to overthrow Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
