U.S. Strikes 3 More Suspected Drug Boats, Takes Out 8 ‘Narco-Terrorists’

The United States Military on Monday took out three more boats in the Eastern Pacific determined to be “engaged in narco-trafficking,” officials said. 

The strikes killed eight men that authorities said were members of Designated Terrorist Organizations. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who is expected to brief lawmakers on Tuesday about the Trump administration’s drug boat strikes, authorized the attack. 

“On Dec. 15, at the direction of [Secretary of War] Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,” U.S. Southern Command posted on X, alongside a video of the strikes. “Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking. A total of eight male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions—three in the first vessel, two in the second and three in the third.”

On Dec. 15, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on three vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters. Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known… pic.twitter.com/IQfCVvUpau

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 16, 2025

Since September, the military has carried out strikes on 25 boats, killing around 95 suspected drug traffickers. In a memo to Congress in October, President Donald Trump wrote that he “determined” that the United States is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels that he has designated as terrorist organizations. Violent gangs like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by the State Department. 

Democrat lawmakers have criticized the strikes, arguing that the Trump administration has not provided enough evidence to justify the attacks. Last week, Admiral Frank Bradley was questioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee about a second strike carried out on survivors of an earlier strike that had already destroyed a vessel operated by alleged members of Tren de Aragua.

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Senator Tom Cotton (R-AK) said after the briefing that the strikes were “entirely lawful and needful.”

“These are narco-terrorists, Foreign Designated Terrorist Organizations, who are bringing drugs to our shores that have killed millions of Americans and thousands of Arkansans,” Cotton told reporters. “It’s my expectation and my deep hope that these strikes will continue.”

Last week, the House passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act with a provision that would force Hegseth to turn over footage of strikes on suspected drug boats or face cuts to his travel budget. Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are scheduled to meet with lawmakers on Tuesday to discuss the strikes and the American strategy with Venezuela.