Defense Secretary says Caribbean attack is a 'very clear' signal to drug cartels

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. attack on a drug-trafficking vessel in the Caribbean sends a "very clear" message from President Donald Trump to the cartels.

On Tuesday, U.S. forces carried out an attack on a speedboat. Trump claimed that the operation killed 11 suspected narco-terrorists from the Tren de Aragua, which he said is controlled by Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.

"You want to try to traffic drugs, it's a new day. It's a different day, and so those 11 drug traffickers are no longer with us, sending a very clear signal that this is an activity the United States is not going to tolerate in our hemisphere," Hegseth told Fox News.

The Pentagon chief said he witnessed the attack live but declined to provide details on how it was carried out. He emphasized that the Trump administration’s actions against criminal groups will not stop with this operation.

"We’ve got assets in the air, assets in the water, assets on ships, because this is a deadly serious mission for us, and it won’t — it won’t stop with just this strike," he noted.

The U.S. Navy dispatched eight ships—seven in the Caribbean Sea and one in the Pacific Ocean—which it says are involved in the fight against drug trafficking.

When asked whether regime change was the U.S. objective in Venezuela, Hegseth replied, "That’s a presidential-level decision, and we’re prepared with every asset the American military has."