US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the US had carried out another strike against a ship alleged to belong to drug traffickers.
The operation took place in the Caribbean Sea, against a group Hegseth identified as the Tren de Aragua criminal organisation.
Hegseth stated that 'six male narco-terrorists' were on board and killed during the operation.
The US has carried out a series of strikes against ships in the region, an effort to curtail drug trafficking as described by President Donald Trump.
Hegseth posted a video on X showing the operation beginning with a boat in crosshairs, before it explodes into a cloud of smoke.
This marks the tenth strike the Trump administration has executed against alleged drug traffickers since early September, with most operations occurring off the South American coast and in the Caribbean, although strikes also took place in the Pacific Ocean on October 21 and 22.
Members of US Congress, including both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, have raised concerns regarding the legality of these military actions and the authority under which they are conducted.
On September 10, 25 Democratic senators contacted the White House, alleging that prior strikes were executed without sufficient evidence that the target posed any threat to the United States.
Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, argued that such military actions require congressional approval.
Trump defended his actions, claiming he possessed the legal authority to conduct the strikes, designating Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization.
'We're allowed to do that, and if we do it by land, we may return to Congress,' Trump told reporters at the White House.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio commented, 'If people want to stop seeing drug boats blow up, stop sending drugs to the United States.'
The six fatalities reported this week bring the total number of deaths from US strikes to at least 43.
There are ongoing suspicions that these operations are not merely aimed at drug trafficking but also intended to exert military pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who Trump has long criticized, alleging Maduro’s connection to drug trafficking, a claim the Venezuelan leader denies.
