US forces have carried out another strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, killing three people, according to US War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The incident adds to a growing number of maritime strikes conducted under the Trump administration’s counter-narcotics campaign, which has faced criticism over legality and transparency.

The US began targeting vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific in early September. Supporters of the campaign argue it is intended to disrupt trafficking networks, while critics say the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings, particularly in cases where the individuals on board have not been confirmed as traffickers.

US forces have destroyed at least 18 vessels so far, including 17 boats and a semi-submersible. However, Washington has not publicly released concrete evidence linking the targeted vessels to narcotics shipments or threats to US security.

Questions over evidence, accountability

Families and local authorities in affected regions have repeatedly stated that many of the people killed were civilian fishers, not members of trafficking networks. Rights organizations have warned that the campaign risks violating international law due to the absence of judicial oversight and the location of the strikes in international waters.

Hegseth released footage of the latest strike on X, stating it targeted “a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization” and was carried out in international waters. However, as in earlier releases, a portion of the footage was obscured without explanation.

“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs–we will kill you,” he wrote.

As we’ve said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their the poisoning of the American people stops.

Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist… pic.twitter.com/gQF9LpSjqD

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 7, 2025

Trump admin. admits uncertainty regarding identity of Caribbean targets

The Trump administration has made a series of startling admissions about the people it is killing in its undeclared war against alleged drug smugglers in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, admitting it is uncertain regarding their identities.

In separate briefings provided to lawmakers and staffers on Thursday, Trump officials acknowledged that they do not know the identities of the victims of their strikes and that the War Department cannot meet the evidentiary burden necessary to hold or try survivors of the attacks, according to The Intercept.

Pentagon officials told lawmakers on Thursday that the strikes remain illegal under US and international law, even if Congress authorized them, because the US is not at war with the cartels, a view echoed by Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-Calif., who called the policy "murder".

Experts in the laws of war and members of Congress say the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to deliberately target civilians, even those who are suspected criminals, if they do not pose an imminent threat of violence.