The U.S. military has confirmed it carried out strikes on three boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing eight people, as pressure mounts in Congress over the expanding campaign targeting alleged drug-smuggling networks.
In a statement released on Monday, the military said the vessels were linked to what it described as “designated terrorist organisations”, claiming three people were killed on the first boat, two on the second and three on the third.
No evidence of drug trafficking was provided, although the military shared video footage showing a small vessel moving through open water before erupting in an explosion.
Justified as escalation against drug cartels
President Donald Trump has defended the strikes as a necessary escalation to curb the flow of illegal drugs into the United States, repeatedly asserting that the country is now engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
However, the campaign has drawn growing scrutiny from lawmakers. Since early September, at least 95 people have been killed in 25 known strikes, according to figures cited by critics of the operation. That total includes a controversial follow-up strike in which two survivors clinging to boat wreckage were killed after an initial attack.
Congressional briefings imminent
The latest strikes come just ahead of closed-door briefings on Capitol Hill, scheduled for all members of Congress, as questions intensify over the legal basis and scope of the military operation.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other senior national security officials are expected to brief lawmakers in both the House and Senate.
Hegseth was pictured earlier on Monday speaking during a Mexican Border Defence Medal presentation in the Oval Office, underscoring the administration’s focus on security issues linked to drug trafficking.
Pressure on Venezuela increases
The military campaign has also heightened tensions with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the United States.
In a significant escalation last week, U.S. forces seized a sanctioned oil tanker, which the Trump administration alleges was involved in smuggling illicit crude. Maduro has rejected the accusations, insisting the true aim of U.S. military operations is to force him from office.
Expanded U.S. military presence
The United States has now built up its largest military presence in the region in decades, launching repeated strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats across the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.
President Trump has said land-based attacks are planned, though he has not disclosed where or when they would take place.
