WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed Tuesday that the U.S. Military conducted three strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean strikes targeting vessels suspected of transporting narcotics, resulting in the deaths of 14 individuals and leaving a single survivor.
TL;DR
- US Military conducted three strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean targeting drug boats, killing 14.
- The strikes, near Colombia's coast, are an escalation of attacks in South American waters.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated cartels kill more Americans than Al-Qaeda.
- At least 57 individuals have died in 13 announced attacks since early September.
This was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day. Carried out Monday, the strikes mark a continued escalation in the pace of the attacks in South American waters, which began in early September and had been spaced weeks apart.
According to a Pentagon official speaking anonymously to discuss the operation, the strikes occurred near Colombia's coast. After one strike on a vessel, the military observed an individual in the water holding onto debris.
The military relayed the survivor's exact whereabouts to the U.S. Coast Guard and a Mexican military plane that was active nearby.
Hegseth said Mexican search and rescue authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the sole survivor but didn’t say if that person was successfully rescued or would stay in Mexico’s custody or be handed over to the U.S.
During a raid this month that resulted in two people being saved, the U.S. Military freed the individuals and repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador. Officials released the Ecuadorian man once prosecutors stated there was no proof of him committing any offense in Ecuador.
Footage of the most recent strikes was shared by Hegseth on social media, showing two boats in distinct clips navigating the water. One boat clearly carried a substantial quantity of packages or bundles. Both vessels then abruptly detonated and were observed engulfed in flames.
The third strike seemingly targeted two boats that were motionless in the water, side-by-side. They look mostly vacant, and at least two individuals were observed in motion just before an explosion consumed both vessels.
Hegseth said “the four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics.”
The Trump administration has failed to present any proof for its assertions regarding the boats, their alleged links to drug cartels, or even the identities of those who perished in these attacks.
At least 57 individuals have perished in the 13 announced attacks that have occurred since the beginning of September.
Hegseth, when announcing the most recent strikes, also kept drawing comparisons between the military's actions against drug trafficking and the war on terrorism after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
He claimed that cartels “have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same.”
President Donald Trump has also justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and proclaiming the criminal organizations to be unlawful combatants, relying on the same legal authority used by President George W. Bush’s administration for the war on terrorism.