Drug boat strike: Ninth US attack on alleged narcotic-carrying vessel kills three in Pacific; total deaths rise to 37

The US military conducted its ninth strike on Wednesday against an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in three deaths, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. This action marks an expansion of the US President Donald Trump administration’s efforts to combat alleged drug trafficking in South America, according to AP.

This strike came after another attack on Tuesday night in the same region, which killed two people, Hegseth shared on social media earlier that day. Unlike the previous seven US strikes, which targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea, these recent attacks took place in the eastern Pacific. Since the attack began last month, the total number of fatalities has reached at least 37.

The strikes indicate a broadening of the military's focus area, now extending to the waters near South America, a key route for cocaine smuggling from the world's biggest producers. Hegseth’s social media posts also made a direct comparison between the US war on terrorism launched after the September 11, 2001 attacks and the Trump administration’s intensified crackdown.

Hegseth mentioned, "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.” Later on Wednesday, he described the alleged drug-runners as “the ‘Al Qaeda’ of our hemisphere.”

Trump has defended the strikes by arguing the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels and by calling the criminal groups unlawful combatants, citing the same legal justification used by George W. Bush’s administration for the war on terrorism.

On the possibility of strikes on land, Trump said after the recent boat attack that “we have legal authority. We’re allowed to do that.” He warned, “We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. We’re totally prepared to do that. And we’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land."

Hegseth shares videos showing explosions hitting boats

A small boat carrying several brown packages is seen traveling on the water in the first short video posted by Hegseth on Wednesday. After a few seconds, the boat explodes and is left floating motionless, engulfed in flames. The second video captures another boat speeding along before it is hit by an explosion. Footage recorded afterward shows packages floating in the water.

Since this summer, the US military has deployed an unusually large force in the Caribbean Sea and near the coast of Venezuela, fueling speculation that Trump might attempt to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is facing narcoterrorism charges in the US.

(With inputs from AP)