Last week, President Donald Trump and his administration authorized two missile strikes on boats allegedly transporting drugs in the Caribbean Sea, according to The New York Times.
These attacks were the eighth and ninth in a series of controversial strikes that have been carried out since early September.
The first of last week’s strikes occurred late on Tuesday, Oct. 21, killing two people, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth confirmed.
The following day, a second strike killed three others. The total death toll from all nine attacks now stands at 37, BBC reported.
Secretary Hegseth announced the completion of the latest strikes on X, writing, “These strikes will continue, day after day. These are not simply drug runners– these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities…We will find them and kill them, until the threat to the American people is extinguished.”
His post included a video of the boat engulfed in flames.
On the first day of his second term, President Trump signed an executive order designating foreign criminal organizations and drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” later applying the label to eight Latin American groups, reported AP News.
Last week’s strikes are the latest of an ongoing campaign by the administration to target such groups traveling by sea.
President Trump has defended the military actions as “necessary” to disrupt the flow of illicit drugs– particularly fentanyl– into the United States.
The marine strikes commenced on Sept. 2, when the administration launched an attack on a vessel departing Venezuela’s coastline, killing 11 “narcoterrorists” belonging to the transnational criminal organization Tren de Agua, according to the president. Since then, the operation has only intensified, escalating particularly after President Trump declared in an Oct. 2 memo that the U.S. was engaged in an “armed conflict” with foreign drug cartels.
The onslaughts have not been without significant pushback, especially from lawmakers on Capitol Hill. After the initial attack, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Jack Reed (D-RI) offered sharp criticism, questioning the legality of the administration’s moves. Senator Kaine argued that the strikes were ordered despite having “no legitimate legal justification,” while Senator Reed asserted that the U.S. military is not “empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial,” reported AP.
Republican members of Congress have also voiced concern. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) objected to the president’s unilateral use of war powers, emphasizing that the U.S. Constitution solely reserves the authority to declare war to Congress, not the executive.
Congress remains divided on the matter largely, but not completely, along party lines. On Oct. 8, the Senate narrowly voted 51-48 to reject legislation that would have mandated President Trump to first consult and receive congressional authorization before ordering further strikes. Senators Paul and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) supported the measure, while Pennsylvania’s own Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it.
Democrats in the House of Representatives also expressed their disapproval.
Congressman Adam Smith (WA-09), Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for a hearing to examine the series of attacks, citing concerns about the administration’s use of unilateral authority and lack of communication with the legislature, according to AP.
“I have also never seen such a staggering lack of transparency on behalf of an Administration and the Department to meaningfully inform Congress on the use of lethal military force,” he said in a statement.
As of now, 10,000 U.S. troops have been deployed in the Caribbean as a part of this operation, reported BBC.
Despite vehement Democratic opposition, administration officials have indicated that the line of attack will only continue. Aside from Secretary Hegseth’s voiced commitment on X to continue the marine strikes, the administration has also affirmed that it is “totally prepared” to expand the anti-drug military action onto land, signaling a potential escalation of military action, reported BBC.
As the administration’s maritime campaign progresses, questions about its legality and expansion remain unresolved. Prompting continued debate in Congress and increasing international attention, the strikes mark the President’s evolving approach to drug enforcement and counterterrorism.
The full extent of this strategy by the administration, as well as its effectiveness and political repercussions, remains to be seen within the coming months.
