The United States carried out two more strikes this week against vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking, expanding its campaign from the Caribbean into the eastern Pacific Ocean.

According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, both operations were ordered by President Donald Trump and resulted in the deaths of five individuals suspected of narco-terrorism.

The first strike took place on Tuesday (October 21), targeting a vessel reportedly operated by a designated terrorist organisation. Intelligence sources said the boat was involved in narcotics smuggling along a known trafficking route in the eastern Pacific.

Two individuals were killed in the attack, which was conducted in international waters.

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.

The vessel was known by our intelligence to be… pic.twitter.com/BayDhUZ4Ac

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 22, 2025

Another strike followed on Wednesday (October 22), also in the eastern Pacific, destroying a second vessel allegedly carrying illicit narcotics. Three men described as narco-terrorists were killed, and no U.S. forces were injured, according to official updates shared by Hegseth on social media.

The two operations marked the eighth and ninth such U.S. strikes since the campaign began last month, bringing the reported death toll to at least 37. Earlier strikes had targeted similar vessels in the Caribbean Sea.

In his social media posts, Hegseth said that under President Trump’s direction, the Department of War would continue to carry out “lethal kinetic strikes” against such targets. He characterised the groups behind the drug-smuggling vessels as the “Al Qaeda” of the Western Hemisphere, adding that the operations would continue “day after day” until the threat to the American public was neutralised.

Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out yet another lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO). Yet again, the now-deceased terrorists were engaged in narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.

The… pic.twitter.com/PEaKmakivD

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 23, 2025

Videos shared by Hegseth showed two small boats laden with brown packages travelling across the water before being hit by explosions. One clip showed a vessel engulfed in flames, while another displayed floating debris and packages following the blast.

President Trump defended the strikes, saying the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and that the groups involved have been classified as unlawful combatants. He said the attacks were justified and aimed at saving American lives, claiming each operation could prevent thousands of deaths from drug-related deaths.

Since mid-year, the U.S. military has increased its presence in the Caribbean and off the coast of Venezuela, raising speculation about wider regional plans. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who faces U.S. narcoterrorism charges, remains a central focus of U.S. policy.

While Venezuela is known as a key transit hub for drug trafficking, maritime analysts point out that the eastern Pacific remains the main corridor for cocaine shipments from South America to global markets.

Reference: apnews