The United States military says it carried out a nighttime strike on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, killing six people the Pentagon describes as “male narco‑terrorists” linked to the Venezuelan group Tren de Aragua.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said intelligence showed the boat was involved in narcotics smuggling along a known trafficking route and that the strike took place in international waters.
He posted video of the attack and said no U.S. forces were harmed.
Hegseth warned that the U.S. will treat narco‑terrorists like they treat Al‑Qaeda, adding that authorities will map networks, track suspects and pursue lethal action “day or night.” The strikes are part of a wider U.S. campaign against drug shipments in the region that has drawn legal and diplomatic scrutiny.
Overnight, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea.
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 24, 2025
The vessel was known by our… pic.twitter.com/lVlw0FLBv4
