Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced another deadly U.S. strike on a ship he said was carrying drugs in the Caribbean.
Thursday's attack killed three people aboard the vessel, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration's campaign in South American waters to at least 69 from at least 17 strikes, Hegseth said.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced another deadly U.S. strike on a ship he said was carrying drugs in the Caribbean. (Associated Press files)
Hegseth posted a 20-second video of the strike on social media and wrote: “As we have said before, court strikes against narco-terrorists will continue until their… poisoning of the American people stops.” He said the ship was “operated by a designated terrorist organization.”
President Donald Trump justified the strikes, saying the United States “armed conflict” with drug cartels and claiming that the boats are being steered foreign terrorist organizations. The administration did not provide evidence or more detailed information.
Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday briefed a small group of congressional leaders on the growing military campaign, providing one of the first high-level looks at the legal rationale and strategy for the strikes.
Republicans either remained silent or expressed confidence in the campaign. Democrats said Congress needs more information about how the strikes are carried out and a legal basis for actions that critics say violate international and U.S. law by killing suspected drug smugglers on the high seas.
Senate Republicans voted Thursday to reject legislation that would have jeopardized Trump's ability to launch an attack on Venezuela, while Democrats pressured Congress to play a more decisive role in Trump's high-stakes campaign against President Nicolas Maduro.
