The U.S. military carried out a strike off the coast of Venezuela that killed four alleged “narco-terrorists,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Friday. The incident marked the latest in a series of operations targeting drug trafficking vessels operating in the region, as reported by The New York Post.
According to Hegseth, the operation was aimed at a boat “affiliated with designated terrorist organizations” that was traveling along a known narcotics smuggling route.
“Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route,” he said in a statement released on X.
Hegseth confirmed that four men aboard the vessel were killed in the strike. He said the individuals were “transporting substantial amounts of narcotics headed to America to poison our people.” He added, “These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!”
Earlier this morning, on President Trump’s orders, I directed a lethal, kinetic strike on a narco-trafficking vessel affiliated with Designated Terrorist Organizations in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility. Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the… pic.twitter.com/QpNPljFcGn
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 3, 2025
The latest strike is at least the fifth carried out since September 2 targeting suspected drug cartels that the Trump administration previously designated as enemy combatants.
Officials said the continuing series of operations reflects an effort to disrupt supply lines and reduce the flow of narcotics into the United States.
The announcement follows several other high-profile interdictions in recent weeks involving vessels suspected of operating as part of larger drug networks linked to both criminal and terrorist groups.
U.S. officials have emphasized that such missions are aimed at curbing the movement of narcotics into American communities, while also countering transnational networks operating outside the law.
The Friday operation did not include further details about the identity of the individuals killed or the exact amount of narcotics found onboard. Hegseth did not specify whether any additional arrests or seizures were made in connection with the strike.
The continued U.S. military action in the Caribbean and Latin American region underscores the administration’s stance that drug cartels and affiliated groups represent a direct threat to the American people.
Officials have signaled that the policy of classifying cartels as enemy combatants will remain in place as long as smuggling networks continue to operate.
This most recent strike adds to a growing list of military operations aimed at disrupting international drug trafficking routes and dismantling organizations accused of fueling narcotics-related violence and deaths in the United States.
Why announce everything? I simply gives the hostile press a new piece to lie about?