Pete Hegseth Confirms 8th Drug Boat Strike: “No Refuge, Only Justice”
The United States has launched its eighth maritime strike targeting drug traffickers, War Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed Tuesday, intensifying the Trump administration’s war against narco-terrorism in the Western Hemisphere.
According to Hegseth, U.S. forces executed a “lethal, kinetic strike” on a drug-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific. A video released by the Department of War shows the boat speeding through open waters before it is obliterated in a fiery explosion.
“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote on X. “There were two narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. Both terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike.”
Hegseth: Cartels Are Waging War
Hegseth drew a direct comparison between the cartels and historical terrorist threats like Al Qaeda.
“Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere,” he declared. “Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness—only justice.”
The Trump administration’s naval operations have primarily targeted routes near Venezuela, where drug cartels have flourished under the protection of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Trump: Venezuela “Feeling the Heat”
President Donald Trump spoke to reporters Thursday, reinforcing his administration’s stance that Venezuela is a central player in the regional drug crisis.
“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come through the sea,” Trump said. “We’re gonna stop them by land also.”
The president also warned that several nations across Latin America are beginning to “feel the heat.”
“We’re not going to let this country, our country, be ruined because other people want to drop their worst. They have given us their worst, they’ve loaded up our country with prisoners,” he added.
Tensions Rise with Maduro Regime
In response to the maritime strikes, Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro lashed out, calling the U.S. action “a military attack on civilians who were not at war and were not militarily threatening any country.” Maduro accused the Trump administration of attempting “regime change.”
The Trump administration, however, has already authorized a covert CIA operation against Maduro and issued an arrest warrant over his alleged involvement in international narcotics trafficking.
The intensifying maritime war on cartel operations comes as the administration also increases National Guard deployments and ICE raids across sanctuary cities in the U.S. in a full-spectrum crackdown on transnational crime.