US military strikes vessel in Caribbean, killing three
The United States military has carried out another lethal strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing three people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Thursday.
In a post on X, Hegseth said the strike was ordered by President Donald Trump and targeted a “vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.” He shared a short video showing the moment a speeding boat was hit by a munition and exploded in the water, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.
Although the Pentagon has not provided evidence linking the vessel to drug trafficking, Hegseth said such operations would continue until what he described as “narco-terrorists” stop “poisoning the American people.”
“If you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” Hegseth wrote.
According to US officials, more than 60 people have been killed since early September in strikes on at least 18 vessels — including 17 boats and one semi-submersible — in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
The campaign has drawn strong criticism from the United Nations and members of Congress. UN human rights chief Volker Türk condemned the attacks as “extrajudicial killings.”
Several lawmakers, including senior Republicans, have demanded that the Trump administration explain the legal basis for launching deadly strikes in international waters.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused Washington of using its “war on drugs” as a pretext to destabilize his government. He also condemned the recent build-up of US naval forces near Venezuelan waters.
Trump, who has repeatedly accused Maduro of involvement in drug trafficking, has threatened direct strikes on Venezuelan territory and confirmed that he authorized covert CIA operations in the country.
Meanwhile, the US Senate narrowly rejected a Democratic-backed resolution that sought to restrict Trump’s ability to launch military action against Venezuela without congressional approval.
Democratic Senator Adam Schiff, who led the effort, said the administration’s growing military presence in the Caribbean “has far more to do with regime change than drug trafficking.”
“If that’s where the administration is headed — if we’re risking involvement in a war — then Congress needs to be heard,” Schiff warned.
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