U.S. Sinks 8th 'Drug Trafficking Vessel' in the Pacific, Not the Caribbean

Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense, announced that an additional drug trafficking vessel had been sunk in the Eastern Pacific.

Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense. Photo by AP Yonhap News

On October 22 (local time), Secretary Hegseth wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account, "Yesterday (the 21st), under President Trump's orders, the Department of War carried out a lethal physical attack on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific operated by a designated terrorist organization and engaged in drug trafficking." He continued, "Our intelligence agencies confirmed that this vessel was involved in illegal drug smuggling, was traveling along a known drug trafficking route, and was transporting narcotics."

Secretary Hegseth also added, "During the operation conducted on the high seas, two drug terrorists aboard the vessel were killed, and there were no casualties among U.S. military personnel."

The attack mentioned by Secretary Hegseth marks the eighth instance in which the U.S. military has designated and sunk a vessel from a Central or South American country as a 'drug trafficking ship.' Previously, all such operations by the U.S. military took place in the Caribbean Sea, but this was the first time an operation was conducted in the Pacific Ocean.

Secretary Hegseth stated, "Drug terrorists attempting to bring poison to our shores will find no safe haven anywhere in our hemisphere. Just as Al-Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war against our borders and our people. There will be no sanctuary, no forgiveness-only justice."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.