US EditionDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth: U.S. has 'only just begun' attacks on alleged drug boats
Since early September, the U.S. military has launched 21 strikes killing over 80 alleged narcotics traffickers, aiming to deter drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea.
- On Dec. 2, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a White House cabinet meeting the administration has only just begun its 21 attacks campaign against suspected drug boats, killing dozens.
- The administration frames the strikes as counter‑narcotics operations against alleged 'narco‑terrorists' begun in early September, supported by U.S. military assets in the Caribbean, while Hegseth said deterrence caused a recent pause.
- Pentagon statements show Hegseth defended the follow‑on strike while critics protested that two survivors were killed, which Rep. Ted Lieu called a war crime and accused Hegseth of blaming Adm. Bradley.
- Senate and House leaders called for oversight to determine the facts, with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer demanding release of the full Sept. 2 tape and public testimony, while Rep. Mike Rogers and Rep. Adam Smith pledged rigorous oversight.
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Womack says he assumes Caribbean boat was ‘legitimate’ target; Crawford calls its shipment ‘chemical warfare’ | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., expressed confidence in the U.S. military's vetting of small boats reportedly carrying drugs from South America, saying recent strikes against these vessels fit within the Trump administration's efforts to stop illicit drug trafficking.
President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth react to second drug boat strike
(NBC, KYMA) - President Donald Trump is distancing himself from a second strike on an alleged drug boat that reportedly killed survivors of the initial attack while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth doubles down on the attacks. This comes as Congress calls for more investigation into the strike. President Trump is backing away from a second military strike on a boat in the Caribbean suspected of trafficking drugs back in September. "I didn't know a…
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that his country has “just begun” attacks on vessels of suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and the Pacific. The attacks, initiated in September, have already left more than 80 dead and critics claim that they amount to extrajudicial executions even if they target criminals. “We have barely begun to attack narco-terrorist ships and send narco-terrorists to the bottom of the ocean becaus…
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