At least 14 dead in a new US attack on alleged drug gangs in the Pacific
There was only one survivor and the Mexican authorities were in charge of the rescue.
BarcelonaA series ofUS attacks on suspected drug traffickers in the eastern Pacific on Monday killed 14 people and left one survivor, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday on X. According to Hegseth, Mexican authorities have taken over the rescue operation for the sole survivor of the three attacks, which took place on Monday.
"Our intelligence community was aware of the four vessels, which were traveling on known drug trafficking routes and transporting narcotics," Hegseth said, without providing any evidence. The US Secretary of Defense has published a video of about 30 seconds in which two boats were seen together in the water before they exploded. Another part of the video shows another boat sailing, also just before it exploded.
These new attacks on the Pacific – it is the second time they take place in this ocean– come amid a U.S. military buildup in the Caribbean that includes guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear-powered submarine, and thousands of troops. The administration has ordered the Ford Carrier Strike Group to deploy to the region, and it is expected to arrive in the Caribbean in the coming weeks.