The United States military has carried out a strike on a vessel in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in four fatalities, according to a statement by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
In a post on the social media platform X, Hegseth said the operation was conducted by Joint Task Force Southern Spear and targeted a vessel allegedly linked to an organization designated by the United States as a terrorist group. He said US intelligence assessed that the vessel was traveling along a known drug-trafficking route and was involved in narcotics smuggling. Hegseth stated that four men described as “narco-terrorists” were killed and that no US military personnel were injured.
The announcement followed a statement by President Donald Trump a day earlier declaring a blockade on sanctioned oil tankers entering or leaving Venezuela. In posts on social media, Trump accused the Venezuelan government of using oil revenues to support drug trafficking and other criminal activities, and said the United States would expand its military presence in response.
Separately, the Pentagon said on Tuesday that US forces had struck three boats in the Pacific Ocean that it accused of drug trafficking, resulting in eight deaths. According to US officials, more than 20 strikes since 2 September have killed at least 99 people, most of them in waters off the coast of Venezuela.
The administration has faced calls to release video footage of a 2 September attack on a vessel, but Hegseth has declined to do so. US officials have defended the campaign, arguing that it has disrupted drug smuggling operations and prevented narcotics from reaching the United States. They have also rejected criticism that the strikes exceed the legal limits of military action.
While the administration has described the operations as focused on counter-narcotics efforts, Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, said in an interview with Vanity Fair published on Tuesday that the campaign also forms part of a broader strategy aimed at removing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.
