US Sinks Drug Vessel in Pacific: First Strike Kills 2 Amid Rising Tensions

"Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific," he wrote on Wednesday on X.

Hegseth accused the vessel of carrying narcotics and transiting along a known drug-trafficking transit route, Xinhua news agency reported.

"Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people. There will be no refuge or forgiveness -- only justice," he wrote, calling the killed "narco-terrorists" but offering no evidence or group name.

Hegseth said the strike was conducted in international waters.

A daily US media daily reported it happened near Colombia's Pacific coast.

The Pentagon launched seven previous operations in the southern Caribbean international waters from September, mainly against boats accused of trafficking drugs from Venezuela to the US.

The total death toll from recent US attacks on alleged drug-trafficking vessels has risen to at least 34 as of Wednesday.

Relations between the US and Colombia have worsened recently.

Earlier this month, Colombian President Gustavo Petro accused US President Donald Trump's administration of "murder" for killing drug suspects at sea.

Trump responded by cutting US aid to Colombia while threatening to impose new tariffs on the South American country.

Tuesday’s attack brings the confirmed death toll from Trump's bombing campaign to 34, according to government statements.

The air strikes began on September 2, when Trump announced on his social media account that he had ordered "a kinetic strike" that morning on a small boat travelling through international waters.

Eleven people -- whom Trump identified as "terrorists" -- were killed in the attack. Their identities were not disclosed, nor was any evidence provided about their destination or cargo.

"Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America," Trump said, accusing the boat's passengers, without proof, of being linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.

More attacks followed. On September 15, another strike occurred in the Caribbean, killing three people. Then a third strike took place on September 19, also killing three.

The bombing campaign spilled over into the following month. On October 3, Hegseth announced a new strike had claimed the lives of four people. Six more people were killed on October 14.

The seventh known strike, however, was a departure from the Trump administration's routine for announcing attacks.

Generally, Trump and his associates had been among the first to reveal the attacks, sharing them on social media paired with grainy aerial footage.

But on October 16, US media broke the news that a strike had taken place -- and that there were two survivors, a first.

The Trump administration confirmed the attack a day later.

The survivors were quickly repatriated to their home countries, Ecuador and Colombia.

Ecuador has since released its survivor, saying there was no evidence he was involved in a crime.

But Trump doubled down, describing the men as riding in what he called "a very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE".

Two additional people, he confirmed, were killed in the attack.

- IANS