US Military Reports 16th 'Lethal Kinetic Strike,' Killing Two Suspected Narco-Terrorists in Eastern Pacific

The U.S. military has executed its 16th reported "lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Eastern ...

The U.S. military has executed its 16th reported "lethal kinetic strike" on a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of two men, according to an announcement by War Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday.

The strike, which was directed by President Donald Trump, targeted a vessel operating in international waters that was allegedly run by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO). Secretary Hegseth confirmed via social media that intelligence identified the vessel as being involved in illicit narcotics smuggling and traveling along a known narco-trafficking route with drugs onboard.

The latest operation is part of an expanded counter-narcotics campaign that the administration has framed as a war against narco-terrorism. Hegseth emphasized the uncompromising nature of the mission, stating, "We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens."

The campaign, which began in early September, has resulted in at least 66 fatalities across 16 reported strikes. The aggressive use of military force in international waters has been met with controversy, with U.N. human rights officials and some U.S. lawmakers raising concerns about the lack of evidence and the legal justification for the extrajudicial use of lethal force.

The incident comes amid a significant military buildup in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, including the deployment of major naval assets like the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, as Washington intensifies pressure on suspected drug-trafficking networks across the Western Hemisphere.