The United States strengthens its military presence in Latin America by deploying warships, F-35 jets and a group of carriers
Video capture shows the destruction of an alleged drug boat in the Pacific. PHOTO: Yahoo NEWS
US forces killed 14 people in strikes that destroyed four suspected drug-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from Washington’s anti-drug campaign to at least 57.
The United States began carrying out the strikes – which experts say are illegal – in early September and have destroyed at least 14 ships in the Caribbean and Pacific.
“A total of 14 narcoterrorists were killed in the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes took place in international waters and no U.S. forces were injured,” Hegseth said in an article on X about the strikes carried out the day before.
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“All four vessels were known to our intelligence services, transited known drug trafficking routes and transported narcotics,” he said.
The Pentagon chief’s message included video of the strikes, the first targeting two stationary boats that appeared to be moored together, and the other two against ships traveling at high speed in open water.
Hegseth said the U.S. Southern Command “immediately” began searching for the sole survivor of the strikes and that Mexican authorities “accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating relief efforts.” He did not say what happened to the survivor or whether the person had been found.
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“We will track them down, we will network them, and then we will track them down and kill them,” Hegseth said of drug dealers.
Washington has carried out a major military buildup in Latin America that it says is aimed at combating drug trafficking, deploying seven U.S. Navy warships as well as F-35 stealth jets and ordering the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the region.
Regional tensions have flared following the strikes and military buildup, with Venezuela accusing the United States of plotting to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro, who has accused Washington of “manufacturing a war.”
