On October 22, two boats which were allegedly smuggling drugs in the Pacific were struck by the United States. This has been the ninth strike since September and the second in the Pacific Ocean, with the other strike occurring the previous night. The first seven strikes targeted boats in the Caribbean. Since then, there was a strike on October 24, followed by three more on October 27. The boats were allegedly being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), which was directing narco-trafficking on a known transit route.
“Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere,” US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said.
The United States government is working very hard to ensure that no narcotics will be brought into our country. Three people on board were killed on the strike of October 22. However, in total, at least 37 people have been killed from the strikes, none of them being personnel from the United States. According to CNN, two people have been detained by the US Navy in the Caribbean, but then returned to their home countries. Their identities and status have not been addressed and remain unknown. However, this could cause legal conflicts because it is uncertain if the United States military actually has authority to detain them. There are very few details known about the identities of the people who were killed, including which drug trafficking organizations they are a part of. “[The people on board had] no possibility to defend themselves,” Colombian deputy foreign minister, Mauricio Jaramillo, said. However, according to BBC news, President Donald Trump has said that he is legally allowed to bomb international boats, and is completely ready to expand the targets to cartels on land with a force that “they have not experienced yet.” There are approximately 10,000 United States troops, as well as numerous aircrafts and ships in the Caribbean that are prepared to strike if there are any more attempts to smuggle drugs into the US, according to BBC News.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) estimates that the majority of cocaine that enters the United States comes from the Pacific Ocean, which is how Colombia and Ecuador are attempting to get the drugs towards the United States, according to BBC News. Drug boats are able to go through Central America and Mexico because of their vast Pacific coastlines. The United States government will not stop targeting the drug boats until it knows for sure that there is no risk of smuggled drugs arriving at the US. “If people want to stop seeing drug boats blow up, stop sending drugs to the United States,” United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio said. This is the most aggressive response the United States government has ever initiated against drug smugglers in comparison to the past, when administrations relied on law enforcement to deal with drug shipments. According to ABC News, it is almost like a “war against cartels.”
If cartel attempts to get drugs inside the borders of the United States continue, the US military is ready to continue striking the boats as aggressively as it feels is needed. There is nothing holding the military back and the president believes he has the full legal authority to strike despite a lack of hard evidence shared publicly.
Further strikes have the potential to cause further international conflict.
