By Blessing Nweke
Eight alleged “narco-terrorists” were killed Monday in U.S. military strikes on three suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Eastern Pacific, the Pentagon announced, marking the latest escalation in an aggressive maritime campaign against transnational narcotics networks.
U.S. Southern Command said the strikes were ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and targeted boats operating in international waters along known narco-trafficking routes. According to Southern Command, three people were killed on the first vessel, two on the second and three on the third. The boats were allegedly operated by U.S.-designated terrorist organizations and were engaged in drug trafficking at the time of the attacks.
The strikes are part of a broader surge in U.S. operations in the region. Southern Command said nearly two dozen strikes have been carried out since early September, bringing the total to at least 25 known attacks on suspected drug boats in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. Those operations have killed at least 94 people, according to publicly available tallies.
The latest action comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Caracas, as well as growing scrutiny of a Sept. 2 “double tap” strike in which U.S. forces targeted survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug vessel. Human rights advocates and some lawmakers have raised concerns about transparency and the legal framework governing the use of lethal force in international waters.
The Trump administration has defended the campaign as essential to stopping the flow of fentanyl into the United States. Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid often produced with chemicals sourced from China and trafficked through Mexico, is the leading cause of overdose deaths nationwide.
“The declared intent is to stop lethal drugs, destroy narco-boats, and kill the narco-terrorists who are poisoning the American people,” Hegseth said last month on social media. “Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating fentanyl and its core precursor chemical as weapons of mass destruction, further underscoring the administration’s headline approach.
Original article
Comments