U.S. Military Kills 6 in Strikes on Suspected Drug Boats, Hegseth Says

The New York Times ^ | Nov. 10, 2025Updated 9:27 a.m. ET | Eric Schmitt

[E. Pluribus Unum]

The U.S. military killed six people on Sunday in two more strikes on boats suspected of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Monday.

The latest strikes raised the death toll in the campaign to 76 people in 19 attacks in the Pacific and the Caribbean Sea since early September.

In a post on social media, Mr. Hegseth cited “intelligence” and included two short video clips of the bombings of two separate boats that he said were traveling “along a known narco-trafficking transit route in the Eastern Pacific.”

One of the boats appeared to be at a full stop with two visible passengers and possibly with an outboard motor raised out of the water. The other was moving at high speed. But in neither case did Mr. Hegseth provide evidence for his claim that the three men aboard each of the two boats were smuggling narcotics. He said the attacks took place in international waters.

A wide range of specialists in laws governing the use of force have denounced the killings as illegal because the U.S. military is not allowed to intentionally target civilians who pose no threat of imminent violence, even those suspected of being criminals. The Trump administration says the strikes are lawful because President Trump has “determined” that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels.

Mr. Trump has falsely asserted that each destroyed boat saves 25,000 American lives. In reality, as many as 100,000 Americans die each year from drug overdoses, but most of those deaths are a result of fentanyl, which comes from labs in Mexico. South America produces cocaine.

The strikes on Sunday came as the U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean was expected to grow sharply with the arrival as soon as this...

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TOPICS: Military/Veterans
KEYWORDS: boats; drugs; nuanced; nyslimes; smuggling

[NorthMountain]

Some people run drugs.

Some people play Russian Roulette ...

[iamgalt]

Considering the source, l doubt they were following “accepted journalistic standards”.

[fidelis]

Considering the source, l doubt they were following “accepted journalistic standards”.

The source doesn't matter. It's a long accepted convention that was used here properly, was my point, and not necessarily a sign of disrespect or hostility just because the Left employs it.

[iamgalt]

I thought it was obvious that l saw the point you were making but perhaps you had difficulty seeing mine.

[fidelis]

I thought it was obvious that l saw the point you were making but perhaps you had difficulty seeing mine.

No, I understood perfectly that you were assigning motives to the writers because you assumed that, since they were New York Times writers, they must be Lefties. That's likely true, but they were still using proper journalistic protocol.