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 boats alleged to be carrying drugs. Lawmakers pressed military officials for details about a strike in early September after footage of an initial attack was released; a separate video showing a second strike that reportedly killed two survivors has not been publicly released. Some lawmakers who were briefed on the incident raised legal concerns, including whether protections for wounded combatants were observed. Military officials, however, said the survivors were attempting to salvage and transport the drugs.
Separately, a government watchdog found 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 responded on social media, calling the findings “total exoneration” and saying “case closed.”
The remarks came as President Trump attended the Kennedy Center Honors, where Hegseth’s comments and the controversy over the strikes were among the latest developments in the administration’s approach to countering narcotics trafficking by maritime means.