Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the United States military took out four more narco-trafficking boats through kinetic strikes in the Eastern Pacific, leaving 14 suspected drug traffickers dead. 

Hegseth said that the strikes took place in international waters on Monday and were authorized by President Donald Trump. The boats were operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTOs), Hegseth said. 

“The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth wrote on X. “A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor. All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed.”

Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific.

The four vessels were known by our intelligence… pic.twitter.com/UhoFlZ3jPG

— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) October 28, 2025

There were eight male “narco-terrorists” on board the first boat, four on the second, and three on the third, according to Hegseth. He added that Mexican search-and-rescue authorities had assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue of the survivor from the third boat. It was not specified which DTOs were targeted. 

“The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. Now, we’re defending our own,” Hegseth said. “These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them.”

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At Trump’s direction, the military has taken out dozens of suspected drug-runners throughout the Caribbean Sea and expanded strikes into the Pacific. Two survivors of previous strikes were repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador, where American authorities recommended they face prosecution for drug trafficking. 

On Friday, Hegseth dispatched the Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group toward South America to aid in efforts to fight drug trafficking in the region. 

“The enhanced U.S. force presence … will bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States homeland and our security in the Western Hemisphere,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said. “These forces will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs [Transnational Criminal Organizations].”

Some lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have expressed concern about Trump’s strikes on suspected drug runners, arguing that Congress must grant approval before the administration uses the military to target suspected narco-terrorists in international waters. Trump has said that he doesn’t need a declaration of war to target those he says are bringing drugs into the country.

Speaking aboard the USS George Washington at the Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan, President Donald J. Trump delivered a thunderous message on combating crime in American cities.

“We have cities that are troubled,” Trump declared, his tone equal parts steel and resolve. “And we’re sending in our National Guard — and if we need more than the National Guard, we’ll send more than the National Guard, because we’re gonna have safe cities. We’re not gonna have people killed in our cities. Whether people like that or not, that’s what we’re doing.”

In September, Chicago suffered one of the bloodiest Labor Day weekends in its recent history — nearly 60 shot, at least nine killed — under Democratic Mayor Brandon Johnson’s watch. For the thirteenth straight year, Chicago topped the nation in homicides, with 572 murders in 2024 alone. Yet, instead of seeking help, Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker continued to defy federal offers of assistance. “Donald Trump is attempting to manufacture a crisis,” Pritzker had claimed, while insisting that “big cities have crime.”

But the Trump administration wasn’t buying it. “Despite pleas from residents, city council members, and even MSNBC hosts,” the White House stated, “Governor Pritzker is too blinded by Trump Derangement Syndrome to act in the best interest of his constituents.” Trump put it bluntly: “We’re going in. I didn’t say when we’re going in. This isn’t political — I have an obligation.”

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By early October, that obligation took form. The War Department, under Secretary Pete Hegseth, authorized 300 Illinois National Guard troops to protect federal agents and facilities under siege in Chicago. Pritzker immediately dubbed the move “Trump’s Invasion,” railing that “federalized members of the Illinois National Guard” were being deployed “against our wishes.” The administration responded that the troops would defend ICE agents and federal buildings under violent threat — a duty clearly allowed under 10 U.S.C. §12406, which authorizes the president to act when federal law cannot be executed by regular forces.

“Everybody knows Chicago is a hellhole right now,” Trump said. “We’re going to straighten it out.” Operation Midway Blitz followed — a sweep that netted hundreds of illegal immigrants with criminal backgrounds, including gang members and murderers. Meanwhile, the Texas National Guard began preparing to bolster the Illinois deployment.

Trump didn’t stop there. As riots erupted in Portland, Oregon, he authorized the deployment of 200 California and Oregon National Guard members, describing cities like Portland and Chicago as “burning.” When a federal judge blocked the order, Trump fired back, calling the decision “shameful.”

“I believe the politicians are under threat,” Trump said. “There’s no way someone can say things are wonderful in Chicago. We’re going to straighten it out. And I think Pritzker — he’s afraid for his life.”

Trump’s message from Japan was unmistakable: under his leadership, law and order will no longer be optional. “We’re gonna have safe cities,” he vowed. “Whether people like that or not.”