Hegseth says US carried out 3 strikes on alleged drug-running boats in eastern Pacific, killing 14
Oct 28, 2025, 6:51 AM
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, center right, with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, left, and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, gestures as they listen to President Donald Trump speak to members of the military aboard the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier docked at an American naval base, in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the Eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor.
The announcement made on social media Tuesday, marks a continued escalation in the pace of the strikes, which began in early September spaced weeks apart. This was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day.
Hegseth said Mexican search and rescue authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the sole survivor but didn’t say if that person would stay in their custody or be handed over to the U.S.
In a strike earlier in October which had two survivors, the U.S. military rescued the pair and later repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador.
