Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the US military has killed 14 suspected narco-terrorists in a series of attacks on four suspected drug ships in the eastern Pacific.
“All strikes took place in international waters and did not harm any U.S. military forces,” Hegseth added, noting that President Donald Trump ordered the strikes targeting “Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.”
“The four ships were known to our intelligence apparatus, were operating along known drug trafficking routes and were transporting narcotics. Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the ships during the initial attack,” Hegseth said.
“Four male narco-terrorists were on board the ship during the second attack. Three male narco-terrorists were on board the ship during the third attack. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three attacks, with one survivor,” he added.
US KILLS 6 SUSPECTED NARCO TERRORISTS IN OVERNIGHT STRIKE ON ALLEGED DRUG Smuggling BOAT, HEGSETH SAYS
The War Department, under President Trump’s direction, is conducting lethal kinetic attacks on four narcotics trafficking ships operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in the Eastern Pacific. (Secretary of War Pete Hegseth/@SecWar)
“As for the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated standard Search and Rescue (SAR) protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue,” Hegseth also said.
“The Department has spent more than TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now we defend our own countries. These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them down, we will network them, and then we will hunt them down and kill them,” Hegseth stated.
US DEploys FORD CARRIER STRIKE GROUP TO FIGHT NARCO TERROR IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth answers a question from a reporter during a roundtable discussion on criminal cartels in the State Dining Room of the White House, Thursday, October 23, 2025. (Evan Vucci/AP)
Officials say dozens of suspected drug traffickers have been killed since September 2, when the Trump administration began targeting boats allegedly transporting drugs.
Many of the strikes have taken place in the Caribbean.
Hegseth had announced on Friday that the War Department, under President Trump, carried out a deadly kinetic attack on a ship operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), which traffics narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
A suspected drug smuggling ship is shown moments before it was destroyed in another US attack on Tuesday, October 21, 2025. (X.com/SecWar)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
“Six male narco-terrorists were on board the ship during the attack, which was carried out in international waters – and it was the first attack overnight,” Hegseth said of that attack. “All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were injured in this attack.”
