'We will kill them!' Trump admin boat strike kills another three as tensions escalate

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Saturday night that his agency had carried out yet another deadly strike on a sea vessel suspected of carrying narcotics in the Caribbean, killing three and bringing the total number of those killed in the operation to at least 64.

“This vessel—like EVERY OTHER—was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote late Saturday in a social media post on X.

“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.”

The strike, which Hegseth said was carried out at the explicit direction of President Donald Trump, is just the latest in a series of strikes on sea vessels suspected of carrying narcotics to the United States.

The operation has drawn increased scrutiny from across the political spectrum; Democratic lawmakers have universally condemned the strikes, and a growing number of Republicans have as well, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who labeled the strikes as illegal “extrajudicial killings.”

“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home—and they will not succeed,” Hegseth continued. “The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”