High Seas Conflict: US Military Strikes in Caribbean

The United States military has executed a series of lethal strikes on vessels allegedly involved in drug smuggling operations in the Caribbean Sea, as announced by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday.

Hegseth shared via social media that the targeted vessel was operated by a US-designated terrorist organization; however, he did not specify which group. He reported three fatalities from this operation, marking at least the 15th such strike since early September in the Caribbean or eastern Pacific.

President Trump has defended these actions as necessary measures to curb drug trafficking into the US, equating the struggle with drug cartels to an armed conflict. Despite these claims, the Trump administration has yet to provide evidence linking the targeted vessels to drug cartels. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro criticized the military operations as a pretext to destabilize his government.