Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said on Wednesday that the U.S. military has carried out another strike in the Eastern Pacific targeting alleged terrorists he says were engaged in narco-trafficking.

Three suspected narco-terrorists were killed, according to Hegseth. The strikes were ordered at the direction of President Donald Trump. 

Hegseth said the Pentagon conducted “yet another lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO). Yet again, the now-deceased terrorists were engaged in narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific.”

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“The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and was carrying narcotics,” he continued. “Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike.”

This is the ninth vessel strike since September and the second strike reported in the Eastern Pacific. A total of 37 have reportedly been killed while two survived and were later repatriated to their home countries.

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A U.S. military drone strike ordered by President Trump destroyed a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Oct. 22, 2025, killing three suspected narco-terrorists, according to the Department of War. (Department of War)

“These strikes will continue, day after day,” Hegseth said on Wednesday. “These are not simply drug runners—these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities. These DTOs are the ‘Al Qaeda’ of our hemisphere and will not escape justice. We will find them and kill them, until the threat to the American people is extinguished.”

The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed or evidence of drugs on board.

The Trump administration has been scrutinized in recent weeks over the strikes, including by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.

A U.S. military drone strike ordered by President Trump destroyed a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Oct. 22, 2025, killing three suspected narco-terrorists, according to the Department of War. (Department of War)

In a recent interview, Paul cited Coast Guard statistics that show a significant percentage of boats boarded for suspicion of drug trafficking are innocent.

The senator has also argued that if the administration plans to engage in a war with Venezuela, as it has targeted boats in recent weeks it claims are transporting drugs for the Venezuela-linked Tren de Aragua gang, it must seek a declaration of war from Congress.

BREAKINGBREAKING,

US President says fraudulent advertisement featuring the late President Ronald Reagan to blame for termination of talks.

US President Donald Trump said that all trade talks with Canada have been terminated following what he called a fraudulent television advertisement in which former President Ronald Reagan spoke negatively about tariffs.

“The Ronald Reagan Foundation has just announced that Canada has fraudulently used an advertisement, which is FAKE, featuring Ronald Reagan speaking negatively about Tariffs,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform late on Thursday.

“The ad was for $75,000. They only did this to interfere with the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, and other courts,” Trump wrote.

“Based on their egregious behavior, ALL TRADE NEGOTIATIONS WITH CANADA ARE HEREBY TERMINATED,” Trump added.

Trump’s announcement follows after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he aimed to double his country’s exports to countries outside the US because of the threat posed by the Trump administration’s tariffs.

The Canadian prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s decision.

This is a breaking news story. More to follow soon.