U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday, October 28, three new attacks against vessels allegedly carrying drugs in the Eastern Pacific. According to the official, a total of four boats"operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs)" were destroyed.
The attacks took place this Monday, October 27, in international waters. According to Hegseth, 14 people on the boats died in the bombings, while one person survived.
Following the destruction of the boats, the United States Southern Command, which operates in the region, activated the relevant protocols to locate and rescue the survivor, whose health status and nationality were not revealed.
"Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue," the secretary revealed.
What is known about the four vessels attacked in the Pacific?
The official said that U.S. intelligence had information that the four vessels were"traveling on known drug trafficking routes and transporting narcotics," although he did not publish evidence that the boats were loaded with drugs.
Additionally, as has become customary since the U.S. began its attacks in the Caribbean and Pacific last September, the Secretary of War shared a video showing the bombings carried out in recent hours.
The first clip shows two boats stopped, with some people moving around inside, until the boats are hit and destroyed. The other two attacks were carried out as both vessels were moving at high speed through international waters.
Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025
The four vessels were known by our intelligence…
According to the secretary, the first two boats had eight people on board, while the third vessel attacked had four. The last boat, meanwhile, had three people on board. Hegseth described all of them as"narco-terrorists."
Since it began operations in the region, the United States has destroyed at least 14 boats and vessels in the Caribbean and the Pacific, near the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia. The bombings have killed nearly 60 people.
The attacks have also heightened tensions between Washington and the two South American countries. While Venezuela maintains that the military deployment in the region is aimed at removing Nicolás Maduro from power, Colombia has criticized the operations, denouncing them as"extrajudicial executions."
President Donald Trump defends bombings in the Caribbean and Pacific
On Tuesday, during his visit to Japan, US President Donald Trump insisted that US forces are destroying vessels designed to traffic drugs and carrying enough to"kill 25,000 Americans" from overdoses.
"The radical left Democrats said they were just fishing. Well, submarines don't fish, right? You know more about submarines than I do," he said.
He added:"We are finally waging a war against the cartels. We are waging a war like you've never seen before, and we are going to win that battle. We are already winning it at sea."
Trump has also hinted on multiple occasions that U.S. forces could carry out ground attacks against drug trafficking groups, although details of how these operations would be carried out are currently unknown.
