WASHINGTON: US forces on Thursday struck another alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70.
The United States began carrying out such strikes — which experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers — in early September, aiming at vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The US strikes have destroyed at least 18 vessels so far — 17 boats and a semi-submersible — but Washington has yet to make public any concrete evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.
Hegseth released aerial footage on X of the latest strike, which he said took place in international waters like the previous strikes. The video showed a boat traveling through the water before exploding into flames.
Published in Dawn, November 8th, 2025
