US anti-drug offensive in the Caribbean now leaves at least 70 dead after new attack

A new U.S. strike against a suspected drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean sea left three people dead Thursday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said. This brings the total number of deaths in the naval offensive by Washington against drug trafficking in international waters to at least 70, according to official figures.

The Pentagon explained that the operations began in early September, when the U.S. began targeting suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

Another attack in international waters

According to Hegseth, the new military action took place in international waters and was directed against "a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization." The official released aerial footage of the attack via social network X, showing a boat sailing before exploding into flames upon impact.

"Three male narco-terrorists -who were aboard the vessel- were killed," Hegseth said in his message, without offering further details on the identity of the victims or the exact location of the attack.

With this toll, the Pentagon reported that the country has destroyed at least 18 vessels since the beginning of the campaign, among them 17 boats and a semi-submersible.

"If they continue to traffic drugs, we will kill them."

The Pentagon chief defended the offensive with a forceful tone, after various criticisms from international organizations that have warned that these operations could amount to "extrajudicial executions," even if the targets were linked to drug trafficking networks.

"To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs, we will kill you," Hegseth declared, reaffirming that operations will continue until the threat is eliminated.

The message, broadcast from Washington, seeks to reaffirm the policy promoted by the administration of President Donald Trump, which has adopted a military approach to its counternarcotics strategy in Latin America.