Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the U.S. military had struck a boat that he asserted was carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, the 10th known attack that the Trump administration has launched on a vessel suspected of smuggling drugs since early September.
Mr. Hegseth said in a message posted on X that six people had been killed overnight in a strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua, one of several Venezuelan criminal groups that the Trump administration has designated as terrorist organizations. Mr. Hegseth offered no evidence to support the claim.
The latest attack brings the total number of people in suspected drug boats killed by U.S. Special Operations strikes to 43 in 10 known attacks — eight in the Caribbean and two more earlier this week in the eastern Pacific.
Mr. Hegseth said the latest strike — the first of the operation known to have been conducted at night — was carried out on a vessel in international waters “transiting along a known narco-trafficking route.” He did not give provide any details about the location.
“If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Queda,” said Mr. Hegseth, misspelling Al Qaeda. “Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”
As with statements about previous strikes, Mr. Hegseth’s message contained a grainy video clip of a boat bobbing in the water, then disappearing in an explosion.
Eric Schmitt is a national security correspondent for The Times. He has reported on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism for more than three decades.
Charlie Savage writes about national security and legal policy for The Times.
The post U.S. Says 6 Are Killed in Its Latest Strike on a Boat in the Caribbean appeared first on New York Times.
