U.S. Southern Command announced Thursday that American forces conducted a lethal kinetic strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four suspected narco-terrorists and destroying a smuggling vessel believed to be carrying a significant quantity of illicit drugs.

The strike, authorized by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth under Operation Southern Spear, is the 22nd such operation against cartel-linked traffickers in international waters and brings the total number of suspected narco-terrorists killed to nearly 90, according to the command.
The operations have continued despite criticism from some members of Congress who have questioned the administration’s use of military force in anti-trafficking missions, Breitbart News reported.

U.S. military forces carried out a strike in the eastern Pacific Ocean that killed four suspected narco-terrorists and destroyed the vessel they were using to transport illicit drugs.

U.S. Southern Command announced the operation in a post on X late Thursday afternoon, describing it as a lethal kinetic strike targeting a smuggling boat believed to be engaged in narcotics trafficking, the report noted.

U.S. Southern Command said the latest strike on a drug-smuggling vessel occurred Thursday in international waters and was carried out at the direction of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The command described those killed as “four male narco-terrorists.”

The operation, conducted under Operation Southern Spear, was the 22nd such strike on a narco-terrorist-operated vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean. With Thursday’s fatalities, Southern Command estimates the total number of suspected narco-terrorists killed in these actions at approximately 87.

The announcement on X included unclassified video showing a heavily loaded vessel with three outboard motors erupting in flames after being hit by the U.S. military. Thursday’s strike was the first attack on a narco boat since Nov. 15, according to the report.

The latest strike under Operation Southern Spear — a broad U.S. military campaign targeting narcotics-trafficking networks in the Western Hemisphere — is the 12th such operation carried out in the eastern Pacific, according to U.S. Southern Command.

The campaign has drawn criticism from some lawmakers, primarily Democrats, who argue that the lethal kinetic strikes fall outside President Trump’s authority as commander in chief. Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson said the operations have been fully reviewed and approved by the appropriate authorities, and that the military is operating within its legal mandate.

“Our operations in the Southcom region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the Law of Armed Conflict. These actions have also been approved by the best military and civilian lawyers up and down the chain of command,” Wilson noted during a recent press conference, Breitbart reported.

Hegseth recently came under scrutiny following a Washington Post report — now disputed by the Pentagon — alleging that he personally ordered a “double-tap” strike during a Sept. 2 operation that killed 11 suspected narco-terrorist smugglers in the Caribbean. Wilson addressed the report on Tuesday, saying the follow-up strike was ordered by U.S. Special Operations Command’s top officer, Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley, not Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

During a closed-door briefing with members of Congress on Thursday morning, Bradley defended the ongoing campaign of kinetic strikes against narco-terrorist vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific. He said Operation Southern Spear is a lawful and necessary component of the United States’ national security strategy, aimed at disrupting cartel networks that pose risks to both U.S. citizens and regional stability.

Much of the Post’s original report has since been debunked, with follow-up reporting by other media outlets refuting the Post’s most damning accusations.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and an Army veteran, noted: “The first strike, the second strike and the third and the fourth strike on Sept. 2 were entirely lawful and needful and they were exactly what we would expect our military commanders to do.

“What’s disturbing to me is that millions of Americans have died from drugs being run to America by these cartels. What’s gratifying to me is that the President has made the decision finally, after decades of letting it happen, that we’re going to take the battle to them,” he added.