Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended U.S. military strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats, saying the administration will take decisive action and warning, “We’ve been clear if you’re working for a designated terrorist organization and you bring drugs to this country in a boat, we will find you, and we will sink you.”
Since September, U.S. forces have carried out more than 20 strikes on vessels alleged to be carrying narcotics. Lawmakers pressed military officials for details about an early September incident after footage of an initial attack was released; a separate video reportedly showing a second strike that killed two survivors has not been made public. Some members of Congress who were briefed raised legal questions, including whether protections for wounded combatants were respected. Military officials countered that the survivors were attempting to salvage and transport the seized drugs.
Separately, a government watchdog concluded Hegseth violated Pentagon rules earlier in the year by sharing information about a strike on Houthi rebels in a Signal group that inadvertently included a journalist. Hegseth disputed the severity of the finding on social media, calling it “total exoneration” and declaring the “case closed.”
The comments came as President Trump attended the Kennedy Center Honors. Hegseth’s statement and the controversy surrounding the maritime strikes are the latest developments in the administration’s approach to countering narcotics trafficking at sea, and they have prompted ongoing scrutiny from lawmakers and watchdogs over legal and oversight implications.