The U.S. military killed six people in a strike on another boat in the Caribbean, alleged to be carrying narcotics, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Oct. 24.

It was the 10th vessel targeted in a campaign that has drawn criticism from legal experts, who question the legality of using deadly military force rather than trying to apprehend suspected trafficking vessels and their cargo. There is bipartisan concern about the strikes, which have killed at least 43 people, based on military accounts.

Hegseth said in an Oct. 24 social media post that the vessel targeted in the latest operation, the first to be conducted at night, was "known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics." The Pentagon chief did not provide evidence.

Hegseth said six "male narco-terrorists" were aboard the vessel and all were killed.

"If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere... Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you," Hegseth wrote.

President Donald Trump and Hegseth defended the strikes against alleged drug-trafficking vessels during an Oct. 23 event at the White House focused on the administration's campaign against drug cartels.

Asked whether the administration has considered capturing one of the boats to demonstrate the narcotics onboard, Trump said, "We've been capturing these boats for years, and they get back into the system and they do it again and again and again, and they don't fear that."

Hegseth said the military campaign is about changing "the psychology" of those being targeted. He also insisted that the administration has "all the license necessary, all the authorities necessary to take these kinetic strikes, and we'll continue to take them."

Trump designated some drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations" in February, a move administration officials argue gives them legal justification for the strikes.

The military campaign is ramping up tension in the region, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro accusing U.S. officials of murder. Petro said one of the strikes killed a fisherman who "had no ties to the drug trade." Trump responded to Petro's criticism by announcing he is withholding aid to Colombia and plans to impose tariffs on the country.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers have sought to curtail the strikes.

In October, Republican senators blocked a measure pushed by Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia that sought to put a check on Trump's military actions without congressional approval by halting the campaign against boats in the Caribbean.

U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has been an outspoken critic of the military operation. In an Oct. 22 interview on "Piers Morgan Uncensored" Paul said: "Interdicting drugs has always been a... anti-crime sort of activity where we don't just summarily execute people, we actually present evidence and convict them."

The president continued to suggest Oct. 23 that he might go further and order strikes on land to combat the flow of drugs from Venezuelan cartels.

Contributing: Joey Garrison, Davis Winkie, Erin Mansfield

(This story was updated to add new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US military strikes another alleged drug vessel, killing 6

Reporting by Zac Anderson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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