US Strike in the Pacific Kills Two; Boat Death Toll Reaches at Least 67 Since September

US strike in the Pacific kills two amid growing controversy over boat attacks

The United States killed two people in a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, bringing the number of people killed in US attacks on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific to at least 67 since early September.

In a late Tuesday post on social media, Hegseth asserted the targeted vessel was engaged in "illicit narcotics smuggling" and shared a short, blurred aerial clip of the strike. The footage appears to show a stationary vessel struck by a missile and erupting in smoke and flames; the Pentagon blurred the video so occupants could not be identified. Hegseth said the attack was carried out in "international waters in the Eastern Pacific" on orders from US President Donald Trump, and described the vessel as "transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics." He did not present public evidence to substantiate the claim.

Legal and diplomatic concerns

Legal experts and human-rights advocates have warned that such strikes risk amounting to extrajudicial killings when evidence and due process are not made public. United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk last week urged the US to halt the operations to "prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats." Lawmakers from both parties in the US Congress have also demanded clarity on the legal authority for carrying out lethal strikes in international waters.

Governments and victims' families across Latin America have criticized the operations, saying many of those killed were fishermen rather than traffickers. The strikes have targeted at least 17 vessels since early September — 16 boats and one semi-submersible — but the administration has not released definitive proof that the targets were engaged in narcotics trafficking or posed an imminent threat to the United States.

Regional tensions and military movements

The announcement of the latest strike comes as the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford heads toward the Caribbean to join a US military buildup Washington says is aimed at disrupting drug cartels. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom US officials have accused of links to narcotics trafficking, condemned the operations and accused Washington of using an intensified "war on drugs" as a pretext to try to remove him from power.

When asked in a CBS interview whether Maduro's days were numbered, President Trump replied, "I would say, yeah. I think so, yeah," but did not say whether he would order strikes inside Venezuela. US officials have previously suggested the possibility of attacking land-based targets linked to the drug trade — a move that would mark a significant escalation in US military involvement in Latin America.

Key facts: At least 67 people killed in recent boat strikes; at least 17 vessels targeted since September; US official claims narcotics link but has not released public evidence; UN and legal experts warn of extrajudicial killing risks.