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