U.S. strikes another alleged drug vessel in the Pacific; 4 killed

A U.S. military strike destroyed another suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific, killing four people, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The strike took place Wednesday under the direction of President Trump and targeted a vessel identified by U.S. intelligence as belonging to a designated terrorist organization, Hegseth said.

Hegseth added that the ship was carrying narcotics and traveling along a known trafficking route when it was struck in international waters. No U.S. forces were harmed.

“The Western Hemisphere is no longer a safe haven for narco-terrorists bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans,” Hegseth said. “The Department of War will continue to hunt them down and eliminate them wherever they operate.”

The attack follows a series of U.S. strikes on Tuesday that destroyed four vessels and killed 14 people in the Eastern Pacific, about 400 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, according to local media and officials.

With Wednesday’s operation, at least 61 people have been killed in 15 confirmed U.S. strikes against suspected narcotics vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific since early September.

Earlier today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on yet another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) in the Eastern Pacific.

This vessel, like all the others, was known by our… pic.twitter.com/mBOLA5RYQe

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 29, 2025