US Military Strike Kills Four on Alleged Drug-Trafficking Vessel: Controversy Deepens Over Pacific Ocean Operations

A military operation against a suspected drug-trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean resulted in four fatalities on Thursday.

The US military confirmed that four individuals died when forces struck an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, adding to mounting controversy surrounding a campaign that has already claimed more than 87 lives.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump's administration have faced particular criticism regarding a September incident where US forces targeted the remains of a previously struck vessel, killing two survivors—an action some have characterized as a possible war crime.

After viewing footage of the September incident, a senior Democratic lawmaker described it as an attack on "shipwrecked sailors," raising serious ethical concerns.

US Southern Command stated on social media that the latest strike targeted a "vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific."

The military confirmed, "Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed," and released video showing a multi-engine boat speeding across water before being hit by an explosion that engulfed the vessel in flames.

Earlier that day, lawmakers attended a classified briefing on Capitol Hill where they viewed extended footage of the strike, beyond what has been publicly released.

Representative Jim Himes, top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, told journalists the footage showed "the United States military attacking shipwrecked sailors—bad guys, bad guys—but attacking shipwrecked sailors," calling it "one of the most troubling things I've seen in my time in public service."

Himes elaborated: "You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, who were killed by the United States."

Republican Representative Don Bacon stated on CNN that "these two people were trying to survive and our...rules of war would not allow us to kill survivors," adding that "the rules are they have to pose an imminent threat. And I think we could say they did not pose an imminent threat to our country."

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican who also attended the briefing, defended the military action, asserting that "the first strike, the second strike, and the third and the fourth strike on September 2 were entirely lawful and needful, and they were exactly what we'd expect our military commanders to do."

Cotton characterized what he saw in the footage: "I saw two survivors trying to flip a boat loaded with drugs bound for the United States back over so they could stay in the fight."

Both the White House and Pentagon have attempted to distance Hegseth from the decision to strike the survivors, instead attributing responsibility to Admiral Frank Bradley, who directly oversaw the operation.

Himes reported that Bradley told lawmakers during the briefing that Hegseth did not order the killing of the entire boat crew, though Bacon maintained the Pentagon chief bears ultimate responsibility because "he's the secretary of defense."

The Trump administration maintains it is effectively at war with alleged "narco-terrorists" and has deployed significant military assets to the Caribbean for counter-narcotics operations, including the world's largest aircraft carrier.

These strikes and the military buildup have intensified regional tensions, with Venezuela's leader Nicolas Maduro accusing Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext for "imposing regime change" in Caracas.