US strikes again in Caribbean, killing three as Trump widens ‘narco-terror’ campaign

The US military has carried out yet another lethal strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing three men in what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described as an attack on a “vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

Hegseth said the Thursday strike, ordered directly by President Donald Trump, took place in international waters. He posted a 20-second video of the incident on X showing the boat erupting in flames after being hit by a munition.

No evidence was provided that the vessel was carrying drugs, but Hegseth vowed the US would continue such operations “until narco-terrorists stop poisoning the American people.” His warning was blunt:

“If you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs – we will kill you.”

Since September, more than 60 people have been killed in US attacks on at least 18 vessels across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, a wave of strikes that human rights chief Volker Türk has condemned as “extrajudicial killings.” Lawmakers from both parties have also pressed the administration to explain its legal justification for using lethal force in international waters.

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of using its “war on drugs” as a smokescreen for regime change. Trump has repeatedly hinted at direct strikes on Venezuelan territory and even boasted of authorising covert CIA operations against drug cartels there.

On the same day as the strike, Senate Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic bill that would have forced Trump to seek congressional approval before attacking Venezuela. “It’s an open secret that this is much more about potential regime change,” Senator Adam Schiff said after the vote.