The War Department has conducted another operation targeting what it describes as a narco-terrorist vessel in the Caribbean, War Secretary Hegseth announced Saturday, highlighting an expanding campaign against drug-related militants.
The operation resulted in the deaths of three alleged smugglers, Hegseth stated, noting it was executed “at the direction of President Trump.”
“Today, the War Department executed a deadly kinetic strike against another vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Caribbean,” Hegseth posted on X.
He further elaborated: “This vessel—similar to all previous ones—was confirmed by our intelligence to be engaged in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along an established narco-trafficking route, and transporting narcotics.”
“These narco-terrorists are transporting drugs to our nation to harm Americans domestically — and their efforts will fail,” Hegseth asserted, promising that the U.S. military would treat them as it did Al Qaeda: “We will persist in tracking them, mapping their movements, pursuing them, and eliminating them.”
Saturday’s announcement signifies the 15th documented U.S. operation against alleged narco-terrorist groups in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, forming part of what Hegseth has termed an ongoing “” against transnational cartels.
The U.S. military has now accounted for the deaths of at least 64 individuals in these operations, as reported by defense officials knowledgeable about the campaign.
President Donald Trump has defended these strikes as a firm approach to curb the influx of drugs into the United States, asserting that cartels have transformed into transnational terror organizations and that America is involved in an “” with them, under the same authority cited after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Calls from lawmakers demanding greater transparency on the legal rationale behind the operations — including which groups are being targeted and how force is being authorized — have been pushed back against.
Senate Democrats reiterated their demands on Friday, sending a letter to Secretary of State, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Hegseth that urged the administration to disclose its legal justification and the list of entities deemed targetable under the president’s directive.
“We additionally request that you furnish all legal opinions pertaining to these strikes and a roster of the groups or other entities the President has designated as targetable,” the communication stated.
The correspondence—endorsed by Senate Minority Leader and several high-ranking Democrats, including Sens. Jack Reed and Jeanne Shaheen—alleges the administration is selectively providing contradictory information to some lawmakers while keeping others uninformed.
In a separate development, the bipartisan leadership of the body released two previously undisclosed letters sent to Hegseth in late September and early October. These communications urged the Pentagon to delineate its legal framework for the strikes and to specify which cartels the administration has officially designated as terrorist organizations.