Washington. This Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that the Army carried out three attacks in the eastern Pacific Ocean against four vessels accused of transporting drugs, resulting in 14 deaths and one survivor. He said Mexico was participating in the rescue.
This was the first time multiple operations were announced in a single day. The attacks, carried out on Monday, mark a continued escalation in the pace of attacks in South American waters, which began in early September and occurred weeks apart.
A statement provided by a Pentagon official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely report on the operation, said the strikes took place off the coast of Colombia. Following one attack on a boat, the military spotted a person in the water clinging to debris.
Read also
The Army passed the survivor's precise location to the U.S. Coast Guard and a Mexican military aircraft operating in the area.
“Regarding the survivor, Southern Command immediately initiated standard search and rescue (SAR) protocols; Mexican search and rescue authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue,” Hegseth said, without specifying whether the person would remain in Mexican custody or be handed over to the United States.
Sheinbaum confirms rescue after US attack on boats
In her morning press conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed that after the attack, which she stressed occurred in international waters,"it appears that there was one survivor and the Navy, for humanitarian reasons, and within international treaties, decided to rescue this person."
The President stated that Mexico seeks to ensure that "all international treaties are complied with" and that "we do not agree with these attacks, as they occur." Therefore, within the framework of the security agreement with the United States, Sheinbaum requested"that the ambassador be summoned so that this situation can be reviewed."
Shortly after, the Navy reported on its X account that the rescue operation is still in progress, that they are searching for the castaway and reaffirmed their"commitment to safeguarding human life at sea."
In an attack in early October that left two survivors, the U.S. military rescued them and later repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador. Ecuadorian authorities released one citizen after prosecutors said they had no evidence he committed a crime in the country.
US attacks more alleged drug boats in the Caribbean
Hegseth posted images of the attacks on social media, showing two boats moving at high speed through the water. One is visibly loaded with a large number of packages or bundles. Both suddenly explode and burst into flames.
The third attack appears to have targeted a pair of boats floating side by side in the water. They appear to be largely empty, with at least two people moving about before an explosion engulfs both vessels.
He added that “the four boats were known to our intelligence apparatus, traveling on known drug trafficking routes and transporting narcotics.”
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…
The Trump administration has provided no evidence to support its claims about the boats, their connection to drug trafficking groups, or even the identities of those killed in these attacks.
57 dead from US attacks on vessels in the Caribbean
The death toll from the 13 attacks reported since early September is now at least 57 people.
In Tuesday's announcement, Hegseth continued to draw parallels between military action against drug trafficking and the war on terror following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
He stated that the cartels “have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda , and they will be treated the same way.”
President Donald Trump has also justified the attacks by claiming the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and proclaiming the criminal organizations to be unlawful combatants, relying on the same legal authority used by President George W. Bush’s administration for the war on terror.
