Will continue to hunt and kill: US after 3 dead in latest 'drug boat' strikes

The US military carried out a “lethal” strike on a vessel allegedly operated by a drug-trafficking organisation in the Caribbean, killing three men aboard, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday.

The strike, conducted in international waters under orders from US President Donald Trump, targeted a boat that was reportedly carrying narcotics along a known smuggling route.

“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization in the Caribbean,” Hegseth wrote. “All three terrorists were killed, and no US forces were harmed in this strike.”

The Pentagon chief said the targeted vessel was “known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling” and vowed continued military action against drug networks. “

“The Department will treat them exactly how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them,” he stated.

US STRIKES ON DRUG BOATS

Since September, Trump has authorised a series of strikes on boats allegedly used to smuggle narcotics, resulting in at least 65 deaths.

The first strike targeted a Venezuelan vessel in international waters, killing 11 people whom Trump described as “terrorists” linked to the Tren de Aragua gang, which was designated a terrorist organisation by his administration.

In the ensuing weeks, US deployed Navy ships to the Caribbean and F-35 stealth warplanes to Puerto Rico. Washington has described the buildup as part of a campaign to curb drug trafficking from South America.

Last week, two more boats were destroyed in the eastern Pacific Ocean, signalling an expansion of the anti-narcotic operation beyond the Caribbean.

Trump has defended the use of lethal military force, saying it is necessary “to stop drugs from killing our people.”

CRITICISM MOUNTS

But the escalating campaign has drawn mounting international criticism. The United Nations’ human rights chief, Volker Trk, condemned the strikes as “unacceptable” and urged an independent investigation.

“These attacks and their mounting human cost are unacceptable,” UN human rights office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva on Friday.

The military operations mark a major shift in US policy, which for decades treated maritime drug smuggling as a law enforcement issue, the New York Times said.

Experts have warned that the use of military force in such cases violates international law. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has offered little evidence to substantiate its claims that the targeted vessels were operated by terrorist outfits.

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