US military blows up two more suspected drug ships in Pacific, killing 6

The US military has killed six more people in attacks on what it says were drug transport ships, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday, raising the country’s total death toll. series of attacks at 76.

Hegseth said in a post on

“All six were killed. No US forces were injured,” he said.

As in previous attacks, which began under President Trump’s administration in September, U.S. officials did not reveal the identities of those killed or offer evidence that they were smuggling narcotics or posing a threat to the United States.

Experts say the attacks, which have taken place in both the Pacific and the Caribbean, amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers.

Hegseth said the two vessels were “operated by designated terrorist organizations.” He did not name the groups.

The Trump administration has said in a notice to Congress that the United States is involved in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of their justification for the attacks.

The video accompanying the publication showed an impact on a boat that was stopped in the water and another open-top boat that exploded while sailing.

A brief color video of the ship in motion shows what appears to be several packages loaded inside. No details can be made out about the stationary ship, which appears in a black and white video.

American attacks have so far destroyed at least 20 vessels: 19 boats and one alleged “narcosub.”

“Under President Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these terrorist cartels who wish to harm our country and its people,” Hegseth said.

The attacks on suspected drug traffickers have coincided with a US military concentration in the Caribbean. So far it has deployed six Navy ships in the Caribbean, sent stealth F-35s war planes to Puerto Ricoand ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to the region.

The governments and families of those killed in the US attacks have said that many of the dead were civilians, mainly fishermen.

Washington says its mission is to combat drug trafficking, but Caracas sees the ships as a threat to overthrow the Venezuelan leader. Nicolas Madurowho has repeatedly accused Trump of trying to overthrow him.

When asked In an interview with “60 Minutes” last week, if Maduro’s “days were numbered,” Trump responded: “I would say yes. I think so.”

Mr. Trump last month also confirmed who had authorized covert CIA operations in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief on Monday urged Washington to investigate the legality of the attacks, warning of “strong indications” of “extrajudicial executions.”

“I have asked the US administration to investigate, first and foremost, because they need to… ask themselves: are these violations of international human rights law? Are they extrajudicial executions? I mean, there are strong indications that they are, but they need to investigate this,” Volker Turk said in an interview with News.

The United Nations formerly asked the United States Turk said the killings took place “under circumstances that find no justification in international law.”

Last week, Senate Republicans voted to reject the legislation That would have put a damper on Trump’s ability to launch an attack on Venezuela, as Democrats pressured Congress to take a bigger role in Trump’s high-stakes campaign against Maduro.

In August, the Trump administration doubled a reward for Maduro, offering a $50 million reward for his arrest.