Pete Hegseth draws Al-Qaeda analogy after US kills two in Pacific 'drug boat' strike

Washington [US], October 24 (ANI): The United States carried out its eighth confirmed strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in international waters off Colombia.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth confirmed the Pacific side attack--the first outside the Caribbean--in a social media post, calling it part of America's expanding campaign to stop narco terrorism.
Hegseth compared cartel networks to Al Qaeda, affirming that "there will be no refuge or forgiveness -- only justice."
He added, "So our message to these foreign terrorist organizations is we will treat you like we have treated Al Qaeda. We will find you, we will map your networks, we will hunt you down and we will kill you."
The strike signals a broadening of US operations against drug smuggling networks, reinforcing its commitment to target cartels operating beyond traditional Caribbean routes.
The United States on Wednesday (local time) struck an alleged drug vessel on the Pacific side of South America, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, as reported by CBS News.
This is the eighth such attack by the US on a suspected drug vessel since September 2; however, the last seven strikes were in the Caribbean, with an attack on the Pacific side being the first such in the area.
CBS News cited a Defence Department official saying that the vessel was in international waters off Colombia.
"Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation and conducting narco trafficking in the Eastern Pacific," Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said on X, while sharing a video of the strike.
Hegseth mentioned that the vessel was suspected to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling and was transiting along a known narco trafficking route.
He said, "The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco trafficking transit route, and carrying narcotics. There were two narco terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. Both terrorists were killed and no US forces were harmed in this strike."
Expressing a strict policy against drug smuggling, Hegseth accused the cartels of "waging a war" on the US border.
CBS News reported that at least 34 people have been killed in US strikes on alleged drug boats. The Trump administration has informed Congress that the US is in a "non international armed conflict" with drug cartels, arguing that the narcotics they smuggle kill tens of thousands of Americans annually and constitute an "armed attack."
US President Donald Trump also accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of being an "illegal drug leader" and of actively encouraging massive drug production across the country. He announced that his administration is cutting off all subsidies to Colombia.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said, "It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long term rip off of America."
He added, "As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment, or subsidies, will no longer be made to Columbia." (ANI)