As strikes on alleged drug boats grow, so do questions about their legality and goal

As strikes on alleged drug boats grow, so do questions about their legality and goal

Franco Ordoñez

Ryan Lucas

October 24, 2025 / 2:00 am

The U.S. military carried out three more strikes on alleged drug boats this week. Two of those attacks were not in the Caribbean Sea but in the eastern Pacific Ocean, signaling an expansion of the Trump administration's campaign against drug trafficking from South America.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a video on X of a blue speedboat skipping along the ocean waters before being hit and then bursting into flames.

"Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people," Hegseth wrote in the Wednesday message . "There will be no refuge or forgiveness — only justice."

The Pacific strikes rep