US sinks another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the Pacific, killing 4

Antonio María Delgado, Miami Herald on Oct 30, 2025

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The U.S. military has destroyed another vessel it claims was smuggling narcotics in the Pacific Ocean, killing four people aboard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said late Wednesday.

In a post on X, Hegseth said U.S. intelligence agencies had identified the boat as “traveling a known drug-trafficking route and carrying narcotics.” He added that “four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel and were killed.”

The strike brings to more than 14 the number of vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking that U.S. forces have destroyed in international waters since the U.S. Southern Command launched the military campaign earlier this year in the Caribbean, near the Venezuelan coast.

Last week, President Donald Trump said he would not rule out expanding the operation to include strikes on land targets tied to drug cartels, pledging to notify Congress if such actions were taken.

So far, the campaign has left at least 61 suspected traffickers dead since the Trump administration authorized the military to use lethal force against boats believed to be smuggling drugs toward the United States.

The policy has drawn sharp criticism from human rights organizations and international law experts, who have denounced the attacks as extrajudicial killings. Administration officials have defended the operations, arguing that cartel members are “unlawful combatants” under international law.

Legal scholars say the use of force against suspected traffickers in international waters sits on uncertain legal ground. While nations may act in self-defense or with another country’s consent, maritime strikes on non-state actors could invite diplomatic backlash unless justified by clear evidence of an imminent threat.

Trump has repeatedly described Latin American drug cartels as a “national security threat” and insists the strikes fall within his executive authority.

The maritime campaign comes amid a major U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean, just off Venezuela’s coast, where top officials have long been accused by the U.S. Justice Department of running a state-backed narcotics network known as the Cartel de los Soles.

U.S. officials say most of the recent strikes have targeted boats departing from Venezuela, a country that American intelligence agencies have for years described as a key hub for cocaine shipments bound for North America and Europe.