The United States has carried out another strike on a ship in the Caribbean, killing at least three men on board the vessel, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. In a post on X late on Saturday, Hegseth confirmed the attack was conducted on the orders of US President Donald Trump and targeted a vessel that “was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling”.
US strikes against suspected drug vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean have killed dozens of what the Trump administration alleges are drug trafficking terrorists responsible for thousands of deaths in the United States. We explore the legal authority for the strikes pic.twitter.com/uinbaLXuqY
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 31, 2025
Hegseth reported that “three male narco-terrorists” were on board the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters, and all three were killed.
This action follows another strike on Wednesday that killed four men and a series of bombings that killed 14 others on Monday. The ongoing operation, which began in early September, has now killed more than 62 people, including nationals from Venezuela and Colombia, and has destroyed 14 boats and a semi-submersible. The Trump administration has said the attacks are targeting alleged drug smuggling, but has yet to present any public evidence to substantiate its claims.
The campaign has drawn sharp international criticism. Critics have called the strikes a form of extrajudicial killing and a violation of international law, which largely prohibits countries from using lethal military force against noncombatants outside a conflict zone.
The United Nations’s High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk decried the attacks “and their mounting human cost” as “unacceptable” in a statement on Friday. Turk urged, “The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats, whatever the criminal conduct alleged against them.”
The recent attacks come against the backdrop of a significant US military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine, and thousands of troops. The Ford carrier strike group is also expected to reach the region in the coming weeks.
This aggressive campaign has intensified tensions with Venezuela and Colombia. The Venezuelan government has denounced the strikes as illegal and an act of aggression. Earlier on Saturday, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also denounced the “excessive military force” deployed by the US, with spokesperson Maria Zakharova stating that such actions are in violation of international law. Russia reaffirmed its firm support for the Venezuelan leadership in defending its national sovereignty.
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