The United States carried out a strike on a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, resulting in two deaths, according to defense secretary Pete Hegseth.

This recent strike marks the 16th in the Trump administration’s campaign to curb drug trafficking in South American waters, bringing the death toll to at least 66, as reported by the AP news agency.

Hegseth posted a video on the social media platform X showing a boat engulfed in flames following the strike. He stated that intelligence had confirmed the vessel was “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling" and was “transiting along a known narco-trafficking route…carrying narcotics."

Hegseth emphasised that the Trump administration’s priority was homeland protection. “We will find and terminate EVERY vessel

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