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Donald Trump has directed three more strikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats, killing at least 14 people, raising the death toll from the administration’s war on drug cartels to more than 50. According to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. military assets carried out three strikes on four vessels in the Pacific Ocean Monday, marking at least 13 strikes on 14 vessels since early September. At least one person survived the latest attacks, he said. “The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” according to Hegseth. Eight men were killed in the first strike, another four men were killed in a second strike, and three more men were killed in a third strike, he said. U.S. military personnel performed search and rescue operations to retrieve the survivor, and Mexican authorities “accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue,” according to Hegseth. “The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own,” he said. “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.” This is a developing story
