Pictured is an image from a video published by U.S. Southern Command on Wednesday showing an attack on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Image courtesy of U.S. Southern Command/X
The U.S. military on Thursday struck another alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific, as the Trump administration comes under mounting scrutiny and criticism over the attacks.
The “lethal kinetic strike” killed four men, U.S. Southern Command said in a statement, saying it was at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
On X, U.S. Southern Command published a 21-second black-and-white video of the Thursday strike, showing a top-down view of a boat traveling on the ocean. At about the 6-second mark of the video, the boat erupts in flames.
“The vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific,” the U.S. Southern Command said.
On Dec. 4, at the direction of @SecWar Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel in international waters operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization. Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was carrying illicit narcotics and… pic.twitter.com/pqksvxM3HP— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) December 4, 2025
It is the 22nd attack by the Trump administration on vessels in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean Sea, killing more than 86 people, and the latest since Nov. 15.
The Trump administration has been attacking boats since Sept. 2, alleging they were operated by a designated terrorist organization.
No proof of ties to a terrorist organization has been made public.
President Donald Trump, via executive order, has listed eight drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specifically Designate Global Terrorists. His administration says the strikes protect Americans from the drugs on the boats, which are operated by drug cartels it is in armed conflict with.
Since the first strike, criticism has been mounting against the Trump administration. Domestic lawmakers and critics question the legality of the attacks, stating lethal military force is lawful only during an armed conflict or in self-defense against an imminent threat, while drug trafficking is a law enforcement issue.
Internationally, United Nations experts have described the attacks as extrajudicial killings and the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has accused Trump of murder for killing a Colombian fisherman in one of the early strikes.
Colombia, Britain and other allies have reportedly either suspended or limited some intelligence sharing with the United States or have distancing themselves militarily from Washington because of the strikes.
The Thursday attack was conducted on the same day Navy Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley was grilled by lawmakers about a Sept. 2 strike that killed 11 people. Recent reporting by The Washington Post found that after the initial strike on the boat, a second one was conducted, killing wounded survivors of the initial strike — an act that could amount to a war crime under international law.
In the aftermath of the reporting, lawmakers and critics have pointed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the decision to conduct a second attack, but he has sought to distance himself from it. Testifying on Thursday, Bradley, who was in command at the time of the strike, denied that there was any order from senior leadership instructing the military to kill all crew members.
The Trump administration has come out in defense of the strikes, and on Tuesday, Pentagon Press Secretary Kingsley Wilson told reporters during a press conference that each one is conducted ” in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland.”
“Our operations in the SOUTHCOM region are lawful under both U.S. and international law, with all actions in compliance with the law of armed conflict.”
She said every boat sunk saves 25,000 American lives.
In response to the criticism and prior to the announced strike on Thursday, Andrew Kolvet, a conservative and spokesman for non-profit Turning Point USA, took to X to say, “Every new attack aimed makes me want another narco-drug boat blown up and sent to the bottom of the ocean.”
Hegseth replied: “Your wish is our command, Andrew. Just sunk another narco boat.”
