US Launches Deadly Strikes on Vessels in Latin American Waters

The Trump administration has stepped up its military campaign against narco-trafficking in Latin America, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announcing that three US strikes had hit four boats in international waters, killing 14 people, including eight men on the first boat, four men on the second boat, and three men on the third boat. The strikes bring the overall death toll to 57 in the campaign, which began in September. A lone survivor was picked up in waters near the coasts of Mexico and Guatemala, and Mexican search and rescue authorities have assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue.

Key Takeaways:

• The US strikes targeted four boats carrying narcotics, which were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, in the eastern Pacific, off the coast of Colombia.
• The Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, announced the strikes in a social media post, comparing the treatment of the narco-terrorists to the US wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan, stating that "these narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same."
• Two Air Force B-1 bombers from Texas flew off the coast of Venezuela in international air space on Monday, with the B-1s able to carry up to 75,000 pounds of guided and unguided munitions, the largest non-nuclear payload of any aircraft in the Air Force arsenal.
• Mr. Hegseth has also ordered the deployment of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, accompanied by its warships and attack planes, to waters off Latin America, in a further escalation of military might in the region.
• The Pentagon has not said when the Ford will arrive, but Navy officials have speculated that it could come in the first half of November, depending on weather conditions.

Statistics:

• 57 deaths in the military campaign that began in September.
• 10,000 troops deployed to the Caribbean since late August.
• 5,000 sailors on the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford.
• 75 attack, surveillance, and support aircraft on the Ford, including F/A-18 fighters.
• 14 people killed in the three US strikes.
• 100,000 Americans die each year from drug overdoses.

Sources:

• The New York Times, October 2023.