This marked the 16th reported U.S. military strike against drug smuggling vessels since September.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth speaks at the 250th anniversary celebration of the U.S. Marine Corps at Camp Pendleton in California on Oct. 18, 2025. Mike Blake/Reuters
The U.S. military conducted a lethal strike on a drug smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Nov. 4, killing two alleged traffickers on board, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth said the vessel was run by a designated terrorist organization and two “male narco-terrorists” aboard were killed in the strike. He added that no U.S. armed forces were harmed in the operation.


