Hegseth: Four more killed in new Pacific drug boat attack

(Patria) - The U.S. military attacked another drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific on Wednesday, killing four people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, bringing the death toll in Washington's controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 62, AFP reported.

The attack occurred in international waters, Hegseth announced on X, and a video accompanying his post shows the boat drifting motionless in the water before a large explosion and subsequent fire.

Like previous videos released by the U.S. government, areas on the boat are blurred, making it impossible to verify how many people were on board.

"This vessel, like all others, was known to our intelligence services to be involved in illicit narcotics trafficking, transiting a known narcotics trafficking route, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth said.

Experts say the attacks, which began in early September, constitute extrajudicial killings even if targeting known traffickers, and Washington has yet to release any evidence that its targets were drug smugglers or posed a threat to the United States.

Wednesday's deadly strike comes two days after fourteen people were killed and one survived in multiple attacks on four boats in the eastern Pacific.

The United States asked Mexico to try to rescue the survivor, but Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Wednesday that search efforts had failed.

Earlier on Wednesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said his country had intercepted three planes used for drug trafficking, as tensions rise over U.S. attacks on boats and their military deployment in the region.

"The day before yesterday... a drug trafficking plane entered through the Caribbean. Our aviation detected it in
seconds," Maduro said at an official event.

"Today, two drug trafficking planes entered from the north. And according to our law, we have the law of interception... bang, bang, bang!"

It was not immediately clear if this meant the planes were shot down.

Maduro said the action was taken "to make them respect Venezuela... what is it called? Exercising sovereignty."

Caracas has sought to show its anti-drug efforts in the face of a massive U.S. military deployment near the country.

The United States has deployed seven U.S. Navy warships, as well as F-35 stealth fighter jets, and ordered the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the region, bringing a massive increase in firepower.

Washington calls its deployment an anti-drug operation, but Caracas fears it is a cover for military action to overthrow Maduro.

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump claims Maduro is a drug lord, an accusation he denies, and has offered a $50 million reward for information leading to his arrest.

Maduro insists there is no drug cultivation in Venezuela, which he says is used as a transit route for Colombian cocaine smuggling against Caracas's will.