The U.S. military carried out a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said killed three men aboard a boat he described as operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization,” as Fox News reported.
Hegseth announced the action in a post on X and released a short unclassified video clip showing the vessel being struck.
Hegseth said the strike occurred in international waters and that no U.S. forces were harmed.
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“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization,” he wrote.
“The vessel was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean and was struck in international waters. No U.S. forces were harmed in the strike, and three male narco-terrorists — who were aboard the vessel — were killed.” The post included the video footage of the strike.
The announcement makes this the latest in a series of U.S. maritime strikes targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels that began in September.
Officials say the campaign has included multiple strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific; Hegseth’s statement and reporting from outlets tracking the operations put the cumulative death toll from those strikes at roughly 69 to 70 people.
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Hegseth framed the operation as part of an intensified U.S. effort under the Trump administration to disrupt maritime narcotics routes. In his post he issued a blunt warning to traffickers:
“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.”
He also reiterated administration messaging that equates the cartels to extremist threats; President Donald Trump has previously called “the cartels the ISIS of the Western Hemisphere.”
As we’ve said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their the poisoning of the American people stops. Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist… pic.twitter.com/gQF9LpSjqD
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 7, 2025
The operations have prompted questions from lawmakers and oversight officials seeking further details about the legal basis for the strikes, the identities of the groups designated as terrorist organizations, and evidence linking specific vessels to narcotics trafficking.
Some senators and watchdogs have pressed the administration for the underlying legal opinions and intelligence that support the use of lethal force in international waters.
Pentagon officials say the strikes are intended to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and to target organizations the administration has labeled as threats to U.S. security.
Hegseth’s release of video from the latest strike follows a pattern of the Defense Department posting short clips to public platforms to document the operations. Critics say the footage and official statements do not substitute for transparent, verifiable disclosures about targets and legal authorities.
The Trump administration says it will continue maritime actions against trafficking networks until what officials describe as the “poisoning of the American people” ceases.
Hegseth’s warning and the announcement of another lethal strike underscore the administration’s willingness to use military force at sea as a central tool in its anti-drug strategy.
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