Washington Expands Its Operations Against Drug Smuggling Networks in the Eastern Pacific

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military carried out three precise airstrikes on Monday targeting four ships suspected of being used for drug smuggling, resulting in the deaths of 14 individuals believed to be drug traffickers, while only one person survived, who is currently being rescued by Mexican authorities.

Hegseth clarified that the ships were moving along a known drug smuggling route in the Eastern Pacific and had been previously detected by U.S. intelligence. He posted a video on the platform "X" showing the moment two close ships exploded, along with other footage of a ship moving before it was targeted and exploded.

These strikes are part of an expanded campaign launched by President Donald Trump's administration to combat what he described as "drug terrorism," where he ordered the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Ford to the Caribbean Sea, along with guided missile destroyers, F-35 aircraft, a nuclear submarine, and thousands of troops, in a move reflecting an unprecedented military escalation in the region.