Four suspected drug boats were obliterated in a single day under President Donald Trump’s iron-fisted campaign against narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, as Daily Mail reports.
Under Trump’s directive, the U.S. military launched three strikes on four vessels accused of smuggling narcotics, killing 14 alleged narco-terrorists and leaving one survivor, who was later captured by Mexican authorities, as part of a broader push against Latin American cartels during his second term.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth broke the news on Tuesday morning, detailing the precision of the operation.
“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth stated on X, framing the strikes as a necessary blow to criminal networks.
Let’s not pretend these operations are anything but a loud message to cartels: the U.S. isn’t playing games when it comes to stopping the flow of poison into our communities.
Footage circulating on social media paints a stark picture—one boat exploding mid-transit with parcels visible onboard, while another clip shows two stationary vessels, with individuals moving aboard, engulfed in flames after a U.S. bomb strike.
The body count from these strikes is grim—eight men killed in the first hit, four in the second, and three in the third, all in international waters with no harm to U.S. forces.
Since early September, 13 such strikes have taken place, with a total of 57 alleged narco-terrorists killed, showing Trump’s unrelenting approach to dismantling these networks.
Mexico coordinated the rescue of the lone survivor, though it remains unclear if this individual will be transferred to U.S. custody—a detail that raises questions about international cooperation in this fight.
Beyond the Pacific, Trump’s strategy includes a massive military buildup in the Caribbean, with 10,000 troops—the largest presence since the Cold War—backed by warships, nuclear submarines, and cutting-edge aircraft like F-35 jets and B-52 bombers.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s most advanced aircraft carrier, was deployed to the region last Friday, alongside a covert U.S. Special Forces “ghost ship,” the MV Ocean Trader, designed to blend into shipping traffic for stealth missions.
These moves signal that the U.S. is prepared to target cartel operations wherever they surface, whether in the Pacific or closer to Latin American shores, countering the progressive notion that military force is somehow the wrong tool for this crisis.
Adding fuel to the fire, Trump has authorized CIA covert operations inside Venezuela, citing drug trafficking concerns, while the Venezuelan government claims to have captured alleged CIA agents—though no evidence or specifics have been provided.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the U.S. of “inventing a war,” a claim that sounds like the usual deflection from a regime often criticized for shielding cartel activities. While we must approach such accusations with skepticism, the escalating rhetoric between the two nations underscores the high stakes of Trump’s anti-drug crusade.
