US Expands Lethal “Narco-Terror” Campaign With New Strikes at Sea

The United States has carried out another round of deadly maritime strikes, targeting what it claims were drug-running boats in international waters, the latest escalation in a campaign critics say violates international law.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday that US forces destroyed two vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, killing six people.

“These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific,” Hegseth wrote on social media. “Both strikes were conducted in international waters, and three male narco-terrorists were aboard each vessel. All six were killed. No US forces were harmed.”

The Pentagon says the strikes were part of President Donald Trump’s counterterrorism initiative targeting so-called “narco-terrorists.” But the pace and scope of the attacks, 18 so far across the Caribbean and Pacific, killing dozens, have alarmed international observers.

Last month, UN human rights chief Volker Turk condemned the operations, saying they “have no justification under international law.”

“These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable,” Turk said. “The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”

The Trump administration began targeting suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean in September before extending the campaign to the Pacific. Washington insists the operations are lawful “defensive actions” against cartel-linked groups it has designated as terrorist organisations.

“Under President Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people,” Hegseth said.

However, the administration has provided no verifiable evidence that the destroyed boats were carrying drugs. The only visuals released so far are grainy infrared videos showing explosions at sea.

Trump, meanwhile, has made light of the strikes, claiming “fishermen are afraid to go out now” near Venezuela’s coast.

Critics say the US could easily monitor the boats and intercept them once they enter territorial waters instead of resorting to deadly force. The strategy, they warn, sets a dangerous precedent for extrajudicial killings under the guise of counterterrorism.