US strikes drug-smuggling boat in Pacific, killing four as criticism of campaign mounts

The US military carried out another deadly strike in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, destroying a boat it said was involved in narcotics trafficking and killing four people, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced. The attack brings the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-drug campaign to at least 62 since early September.

Hegseth said the strike took place in international waters and shared footage online showing a small vessel floating before being engulfed in a massive explosion. As in previous videos, parts of the boat were blurred, making it impossible to confirm the number of people onboard.

“This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting a known narco-trafficking route and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote on X.

The United States has launched a series of similar attacks over the past two months, claiming they target traffickers operating in the Pacific. However, human rights experts have condemned the operations as extrajudicial killings, arguing that Washington has not provided proof that the vessels were smuggling drugs or posed any imminent threat.

Wednesday’s strike came just two days after US forces targeted four other boats, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor. The US later asked Mexico to assist in rescuing the survivor, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the search had failed.

Meanwhile, tensions in the region are rising. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced Wednesday that his country had intercepted three planes allegedly involved in drug trafficking. “Our aviation detected them immediately,” Maduro said at a public event. “We acted in accordance with our law... bam, boom, bang!” He did not clarify whether the aircraft had been shot down.

Maduro said Venezuela’s actions demonstrated its “sovereignty,” accusing the United States of using anti-drug operations as a pretext for military aggression.

The US has significantly expanded its military presence in the region, deploying seven Navy warships, F-35 stealth fighters, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group — a show of force that Caracas views as a potential threat.

Washington maintains that the buildup is part of its anti-narcotics mission. The Trump administration has labeled Maduro a “drug lord” and offered a $50 million reward for his capture — allegations the Venezuelan leader rejects, insisting that his country is merely a transit route for Colombian cocaine and not a producer.

SR