U.S. Has Killed More Than 40 In Caribbean Strikes On Alleged Drug Vessels After New Attack

A U.S. military strike overnight that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said killed six people aboard a vessel linked to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, has raised the tally of fatalities from the U.S. campaign to 43, according to AFP's running count based on U.S. figures.

Hegseth posted that the strike, conducted in international waters "at the direction of President Trump," struck a vessel "operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization," and that "six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike..."

"All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed," he added. "If you are a narco-terrorist smuggling drugs in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda...Day or NIGHT, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you."

AFP's tally, compiled from U.S. statements, showed that before the latest strike the U.S. campaign had already accounted for 37 fatalities across nine prior operations since early September. Those earlier incidents included strikes in the Caribbean and, more recently, the eastern Pacific. Officials have said the targets were vessels transiting known narcotrafficking routes and that operations have taken place in international waters.

Among the prior operations, U.S. officials acknowledged a notable shift when one strike was reported off the Colombian Pacific coast on Tuesday— the first time the campaign was publicly tied to waters outside the Caribbean — and at least one earlier target was described by U.S. authorities that same day as linked to the National Liberation Army (ELN), a Colombian guerrilla group.

The campaign, which U.S. leaders describe as an effort against narco-terrorism, has drawn criticism and legal questions from organizations such as The United Nations and Human Rights Watch. Hegseth framed Tuesday's strikes in stark terms: "These are not simply drug runners — these are narco-terrorists," he wrote, repeating the administration's comparison of cartels to international terrorist groups: