US Expands “Drug Boat” Airstrikes in Eastern Pacific, Killing 14 as Legal Questions Mount

The United States has intensified its controversial bombing campaign against suspected drug-trafficking boats, killing at least 14 people in three new airstrikes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the attacks on Tuesday morning via X, declaring:

“The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own.”

But beyond the bold rhetoric, the strikes, like those before them, raise more questions than they answer.

According to Hegseth, all three strikes took place Monday. A video released alongside his post showed a missile slamming into two small vessels positioned side by side, engulfing both in flames. Eight men were reportedly aboard those boats. Two other attacks followed: one hitting a four-man crew, and another targeting three people.

Only one survivor has been confirmed. Hegseth said Mexican authorities are now leading search and rescue operations, though no details have been provided about the victims or evidence of their alleged crimes.

Since the first strike on September 2, at least 57 people have died across 13 confirmed attacks, most involving small civilian-style fishing boats. Initially framed as a counter-narcotics mission, the campaign now spans both the Caribbean and Pacific, suggesting a widening scope.

Monday marked the first time multiple strikes were carried out and publicly announced in a single day, and the sixth attack in a single week.

Officials say the targets are “narco-vessels” used to smuggle cocaine from South America. Yet even among allies, Washington’s justification is wearing thin. No forensic or legal evidence has been shared linking the destroyed boats to drug cartels, and no seized narcotics have been publicly documented.

Critics warn the campaign risks setting a dangerous precedent. If the US claims the right to bomb boats in international waters based solely on suspicion, other nations could follow suit under similar pretenses.

For now, the Pentagon seems undeterred. Hegseth’s framing, part of a broader Trump administration narrative about defending US borders “at any distance,” suggests the strikes are likely to continue.