The US military conducted a strike against a vessel in the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing four people, according to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth.
“This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth said in a post on X. He added that US forces were not harmed.
Wednesday’s action marks the 14th known US military strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. The operations have killed 61 people aboard 15 total boats.
The Trump administration has been accelerating its attacks against boats that they allege are involved in drug trafficking. Last week, the administration struck two boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which appeared to mark an expansion of its campaign as previous strikes had targeted vessels in the Caribbean Sea.
CNN’s Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.
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