U.S. military strikes 3 alleged drug boats in eastern Pacific, killing 8

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. military on Monday destroyed three alleged drug boats in international waters in the eastern Pacific, killing eight people aboard, the U.S. Southern Command said.

U.S. intelligence confirmed that the three vessels, operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations, were "engaged in narco-trafficking" and transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific, said the command in a post on X, without offering any evidence.

The strikes were conducted at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, killing "eight male narco-terrorists," said the post.

The Pentagon has so far sunk more than 25 alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing at least 95 people aboard.

In recent weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that the U.S. military would begin land strikes targeting drug traffickers in the Caribbean "very soon," further escalating tensions between the United States and Venezuela.

The Trump administration last week seized an oil tanker near the coast of Venezuela, and announced new sanctions on three nephews of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's wife, a Maduro-affiliated businessman, and six companies shipping oil from Venezuela.

For almost four months, the United States has maintained a significant military presence in the Caribbean, much of it off Venezuela's coast, purportedly to combat drug trafficking -- a claim Venezuela has denounced as a thinly veiled attempt to enforce regime change in Caracas.

Some 48 percent of U.S. adults say they oppose the U.S. military strikes targeting alleged drug boats in the Caribbean near Venezuela without first getting court approval, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released last week. ■