On the night of Thursday, October 23, the United States sank another boat in the waters of the Caribbean Sea that, it claims, was operated by the Tren de Aragua. The new attack against vessels allegedly loaded with drugs—the tenth since Washington began its operations in the region—was confirmed this Friday by the Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth.
"Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic attack against a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea," the official announced on his X account (formerly Twitter).
Hegseth added that six men were on board the boat, whom he described as"narco-terrorists," and who died in the attack. He also indicated that the bombing"took place in international waters."
The Secretary of War asserted that U.S. intelligence teams knew that “the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known drug trafficking route, and was transporting drugs.”
However, the Pentagon has not presented evidence to support the transfer of drugs or the alleged criminal links of the crew members. This has not been disclosed in the previous attacks either.
In the video shared by the official on his X account, a small boat is seen stopped while it is illuminated. Then, the images show the moment of the bombing against the vessel and a cloud of smoke and fire unleashed after the attack.
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 24, 2025
The vessel was known by our…
Hegseth noted that this is the"first night attack" conducted by U.S. forces.
At least 10 US attacks in the Caribbean and the Pacific
Since President Donald Trump ordered the military campaign to supposedly stem the flow of drugs into the United States, a dozen operations against boats allegedly carrying narcotics have already been reported. More than 30 people have died in these attacks.
Until now, operations had focused on the Caribbean Sea, near the coast of Venezuela, but this week the White House expanded the scope of its operation after launching two attacks against vessels in the Pacific.
According to US media outlets such as CBS and the New York Times, one of the vessels bombed in the Pacific was in international waters"near Colombia." However, the exact location of the attacks has not been confirmed.
After confirming the latest attack in the Caribbean, the U.S. Secretary of War reiterated his warning against drug trafficking groups operating in the region.
"If you are a narco-terrorist trafficking drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat al-Qaeda. Day or night, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and eliminate you," he wrote.
