A screengrab of a video posted by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Tuesday, showing one of three boats targeted in U.S. strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (Secretary of Defense via X)
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military on Monday struck four alleged drug vessels in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on social media Tuesday.
The military conducted three strikes on the four vessels in the Pacific Ocean. This is the first time multiple strikes were announced in one day.
U.S. Southern Command immediately initiated search and rescue standard protocols for the survivor, Hegseth said in his post on X. Mexican search-and-rescue authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue.
“The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own,” Hegseth said. “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.”
Hegseth’s post included a 28-second clip of the four boats being struck. Two boats are first seen stationary alongside each other before being blown up. Two other boats are struck while moving at high speeds through the water. One of the boats seen contained a large parcel or bundle of supplies.
There have been 13 disclosed strikes conducted in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility since September. The latest 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 57 people.
This is the second time a survivor has been rescued from a strike. The U.S. military rescued two survivors after a strike earlier in October and repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador.
President Donald Trump is currently on a multi-stop trip in Asia, including speaking to troops at Yokosuka Naval Base on Tuesday. Hegseth spoke to the troops before Trump took the stage.
Trump has said his administration will provide information about the strikes to Congress, but he won’t seek a declaration of war.
“I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. OK? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be like, dead,” the president said last week.
Trump has also said that land strikes in Venezuela could come next as tensions heighten between the countries.
The Pentagon announced Friday that the U.S. is sending the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to Latin America as part of an escalating military buildup in the region.
Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, speaking Sunday on Fox News, called the military strikes “extrajudicial killings” and said Congress has received “no information” on the operations.
