WASHINGTON — Secretary of Struggle Pete Hegseth introduced Friday that U.S. forces carried out a deadly strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with designated terrorist organizations, killing 4 terrorists off the coast of Venezuela.
Hegseth mentioned the strike was ordered by President Donald Trump and executed within the U.S. Southern Command space of duty. He mentioned the vessel was working in worldwide waters and transporting “substantial quantities of narcotics” sure for the USA.
“4 male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel had been killed within the strike, and no U.S. forces had been harmed within the operation,” Hegseth mentioned.
He additionally acknowledged that intelligence had “indisputably” confirmed the vessel’s position in trafficking narcotics alongside a recognized transit route.
The announcement didn’t embody particulars on the kind of strike or the precise property concerned. Hegseth vowed that such operations would proceed.
“These strikes will proceed till the assaults on the American persons are over,” he mentioned.
The declaration comes amid heightened U.S. counter-narcotics operations within the Caribbean.
Earlier this morning, on President Trump’s orders, I directed a deadly, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations within the USSOUTHCOM space of duty. 4 male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel had been killed within the… pic.twitter.com/QpNPljFcGn
— Secretary of Struggle Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 3, 2025
