War Department head Pete Hegseth reported Wednesday that the U.S. Southern Command conducted another “lethal kinetic strike” against a vessel in the Pacific Ocean, eliminating the three crew members, and compared the alleged drug traffickers to the Al Qaeda terrorist group.
“These attacks will continue, day after day,” Hegseth said on his official Truth Social account, adding that these are not “simple drug traffickers,” but “Al Qaeda” from “our hemisphere and they will not escape justice.”
U.S. destroys second narco-boat near Colombia
U.S. strikes suspected narcolancha off Colombia’s Pacific coast. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reports, amid escalation between Trump and Petro, that the operation has killed two civilians https://t.co/Y4KHCgiba1 pic.twitter.com/kLhNQJM7Fz
– EL PAÍS América Colombia (@ElPaisAmericaCo) October 22, 2025
Secretary Pete Hegseth noted that the attack was authorized by the president, Donald Trump, and that the destroyed vessel had been identified by intelligence for alleged “involvement in illicit smuggling.”
During the attack, the second announced in less than 24 hours in international waters in the Pacific off the Colombian coast, three crew members were killed, according to information released by the head of the War Department.
This would be the ninth known attack by U.S. forces on alleged “narco-boats” and the second in the Pacific since the Pentagon launched an anti-drug operation in the southern Caribbean, mostly off the coast of Venezuela, where it has sunk at least seven vessels it claims are related to drug trafficking.
In this context, Trump ordered this Wednesday, October 22, to cut all economic aid and subsidies to Colombia and described Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, as “a thug, he’s a bad guy who produces a lot of drugs”.
The U.S. president said that his administration is considering attacks directed at ground targets, without specifying the territory, because in his opinion drugs are now arriving by land, and he said he will inform Congress if they carry out this type of operation.
Colombia reacts
Buzzy
The Colombian government rejected on Wednesday, October 21, the destruction of a vessel allegedly linked to drug trafficking off its Pacific coast by the United States, in an operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the government of that country to “cease this type of attacks” and to “respect the norms dictated by international law”, in a statement released tonight.
“The national government reiterates its call to the Government of the United States to dialogue, through diplomatic channels, to clarify this type of situation and to adopt comprehensive and effective strategies to jointly continue the fight against drugs in the region, as we have been doing for decades,” the Foreign Ministry said.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro has already condemned similar actions in recent days, such as last Saturday, when he described as a “murder” and a “violation of national sovereignty” the US attack on an alleged “narcolancha” in the Caribbean Sea, in which he said a fisherman was killed.
Filed under: US destroys narco-boat near Colombia.
With information from EFE
