U.S. strikes 3 boats in the Pacific Ocean killing 8 people : NPR
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a Mexican Border Defense Medal presentation in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in Washington.
Alex Brandon/AP
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Alex Brandon/AP
WASHINGTON — The U.S. military said Monday it had attacked three boats accused of drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing a total of eight people, as scrutiny of the boat strikes intensified in Congress.
The military said in a statement on social media that the strikes targeted “designated terrorist organizations,” killing three people in the first boat, two in the second and three in the third. He did not provide evidence of their alleged drug dealing, but posted video of a boat moving on the water before exploding.
President Donald Trump justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and claimed the United States was engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. But the Trump administration faces growing scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early September, including a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first strike.
The latest boat strikes come on the eve of briefings at the Capitol for all members of Congress, as questions mount about the Trump administration’s military campaign.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other top national security officials are expected to hold closed-door briefings for lawmakers in the House and Senate.
The campaign has increased pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who is accused of narcoterrorism in the United States. In a sharp escalation last week, U.S. forces seized a sanctioned tanker that the Trump administration has accused of smuggling illicit crude. Maduro insisted that the real aim of the US military operations was to force him from office.
The U.S. military has established its largest presence in the region in decades and launched a series of deadly attacks on suspected drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. Trump says ground attacks are coming soon, but has provided no details on location.
