Posted on 10/28/2025 1:54:07 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

US Department of Defense
One person survived the strikes and was rescued by Mexican search-and-rescue teams.
US forces have killed 14 people in strikes on four alleged drug boats in the Pacific, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said.
Mexico's navy says it is still searching for a lone survivor approximately 400 miles (643km) from the Pacific coastal city of Acapulco.
It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean.
The latest strikes in the eastern Pacific, which Hegseth said happened on Monday at the direction of President Donald Trump, mark an escalation in what it has cast as a campaign to stop narcotics from entering the US.
The strikes have drawn condemnation in the region and experts have questioned their legality. Members of the US Congress, both Democrats and Republicans, have also raised concerns and questioned the president's authority to order them.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told her morning press conference "we do not agree with these attacks". She said she had asked the country's foreign minister, as well as representatives of the navy, to meet the US ambassador.
"We want all international treaties to be respected," she added.
At least 57 people have now been killed in the strikes, which has led to increasing tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.
Most strikes have taken place off the coast of South America, in the Caribbean, but recently the US has turned its attention to the Pacific Ocean as well.
In a statement on X, Hegseth said the four vessels that were hit on Monday "were known by our intelligence apparatus, transitioning along known narco-trafficking routes and carrying..."
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...

Check out the Laconia Incident of WWII. German U-Boats rallied to rescue British citizens from a ship they torpedoed only to be attacked by American B-24s. The U-Boats were targeted even though civilians were standing on the decks. Admiral Karl Dönitz issued orders to the fleet to never again rescue survivors.
Immediately thought of this scene from “Das Boot”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtUw_JnmYQ0
“If a person is trying to break into my house, I don’t ask his motivations, nor do I ask if he did it on his own. I simply show him and move on.”
There aren’t thousands of motivated haters trying to find some way to destroy you.
Nobody in the media complained when Obama drone killed even American citizens overseas. But I have now seen several respected sources questioning the legality of just blowing up boats on the high seas. I like Trump and I believe he has America’s best interest at heart. But I’d sure like to see the legal reasoning and justification for this. Unlike Obama, Trump has to have all i’s dotted and T’s crossed. If Trump’s reasoning is, “I did it because I can,” it sets a bad bite-you-in-the-butt-later precedent.
[Porpoises are terrible witnesses.]
Well, for all in tents ⛺⛺⛺⛺
and porpoises. /old joke
Probably the most logical statement in this thread. Well done!
What I have difficult time understanding is how they keep coming up with guys to man these boats? But maybe it is like possums crossing a road. After the first 15 get squished, the 16th still thinks it is a good idea. They must be dipping out of the shallow end of the gene pool.
Yeah ... it gets weird out there sometimes.
USN Submarines sometimes rescued Japanese sailors, sometimes let them drift.
I doubt it’s voluntary.
“Nice family ya got there. Shame if something were to happen to it.”
That’s a good legal issue to look at. We have not declared war on any country since World War II. For what ever reason. We simply do not declare war anymore.
There's no prize money associated with this. No way to make it a desirable business.
Yes. That would be an incentive.
In reference to your statement of uncertainty,
please refer to the first paragraph of post #16.
Designated Terrorist Org. Intel from departure. Just like Al Qaeda.
It really doesn’t matter if it literally spelled it out word for word in the Constitution, they would still protest anything he does.
Tell that to the cocaine sharks

do I have to think of everything?
How many make it?
Could be
More winning.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.