Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared on Saturday that the U.S. military has executed another deadly attack on suspected drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea.
In a social media post, Hegseth claimed that a U.S. designated terrorist organization operated the ship, although he did not specify which group was the target. He said that the strike claimed the lives of three persons.
Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted at least 15 such strikes in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific.
"This vessel-like EVERY OTHER was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco trafficking route, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth said in a post to X.
At least 64 people have already died as a result of the strikes by the US military. Trump has defended the strikes by arguing that they are an essential step in stopping the flow of drugs entering the country.
Using the same legal authority that the Bush administration used to declare a war on terrorism following the September 11, 2001 attacks, he has claimed that the United States is involved in a "armed conflict" with drug cartels.
