U.S. strikes suspected drug-smuggling vessel in Eastern Pacific, killing 2

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

“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 (DTO),” Hegseth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth added. “The strike was conducted in international waters in the Eastern Pacific.”

Since early September there have been at least 16 confirmed operations targeting 17 vessels in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, killing at least 66 people.

The strike comes as the Trump administration is reported to be developing plans for a potential mission to send U.S. troops and intelligence officers into Mexico to target drug cartels, according to NBC News. Early-stage training for such a mission has begun but that final approval has not been given.