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Drug boats repeatedly struck and sunk by the US
- Poudre Press Staff
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
On October 24, 2025, a strike on an alleged drug boat happened in the Caribbean Sea, and the US was the one who sent a strike on the boat. The US Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth said that “"six male narco-terrorists" were on board and killed” (British Broadcasting Corporation). The US has carried out many strikes on ships that are in the region, in an effort to curtail drug trafficking. Also on Friday, the Pentagon announced that it would send the Gerald Ford carrier strike group to the US Southern Command area, which includes Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Spokesman Sean Parnell said that these “additional forces "will enhance and augment existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and degrade and dismantle TCOs," (Transnational Criminal Organizations)” (British Broadcasting Corporation). The strike on Friday was the tenth the Trump administration has carried out against alleged drug traffickers, since early September. Most of them have taken place off the coast of South America, in the Caribbean, but a few were carried out strikes in the Pacific Ocean. Members of US Congress have raised concerns about how legal these strikes are and the president's authority to order them. Trump said he has the legal authority to order the strikes, and has designated Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organisation. “"We're allowed to do that, and if we do (it) by land, we may go back to Congress," Trump told White House reporters on Wednesday” (British Broadcasting Corporation). The six deaths on Friday, brings the total count of people killed in these US strikes to around 43.
On Sunday, Trump denounced Petro, the president of Colombia, as an "illegal drug leader," who is strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs all over Colombia. Trump added that the US will no longer offer any subsidies to Colombia, which historically, has been one of the US’s closest allies in Latin America. The countries of Colombia and Ecuador both have significant Pacific coastlines that experts have said are used to funnel the drugs north, towards the US through Central America and Mexico. US estimates from the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, indicate that the vast majority of cocaine bound for US cities passes through the Pacific, and the drug seizures in the Caribbean, where the bulk of US strikes have taken place so far, account for a relatively small percentage of that total amount. Around 10,000 US troops, as dozens of military aircraft and ships, have been deployed to the Caribbean as part of the operation to stop the drug boats and the drug trafficking altogether.
For decades Colombia and the US have co-operated closely, with the former receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in US military assistance annually. But now, that alliance appears to be more fragile than ever. On Sunday, Trump accused Petro of encouraging drug production in Colombia and announced the suspension of payments to Colombia. Trump’s accusation came as a retort to Petro having in turn accused US officials of murdering a Colombian citizen, and violating his country's sovereignty in one of the multiple strikes that the US military has carried on alleged drug vessels in the Caribbean.
The roots of the US-Colombia alliance started in the early 2000s, when the US started sending aid to Colombia and in return, Colombia helped slow the drug traffic flow into the US. Elizabeth Dickinson, who is an analyst with the International Crisis Group, told BBC Mundo that Colombia has remained “"by far, the closest US partner in the fight against narcotics in all of Latin America," and “It's been almost three decades of US investment, training, and an unprecedented level of coordination”” (Cueto). This alliance has made Colombia and the US reliant on each other in terms of security, and thanks to US aid, Colombia has one of the most powerful militaries in Latin America. In return, Washington relies heavily on Bogotá for its counter-narcotics operations, and roughly 80% of the intelligence the US uses to intercept drugs comes from Colombia.
Dictionary (Merriam-Webster)
To make less by or as if by cutting off or away some part
To pronounce especially publicly to be blameworthy or evil
Money granted by one state to another
A grant by a government to a private person or company to assist an enterprise deemed advantageous to the public
To pass through or as if through a funnel or conduit
The act, action, or process of seizing : the state of being seized
The taking possession of person or property by legal process
Temporary removal (as from office or privileges)
Temporary abrogation of a law or rule
Supreme power especially over a body politic
Freedom from external control
Works Cited
British Broadcasting Corporation. “US says six killed in new strike on alleged drug boat in Caribbean.” BBC, 24 October 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c891gzx7xn4o. Accessed 24 October 2025.
Cueto, José Carlos. “What's at stake as Trump-Petro feud strains the US-Colombia alliance.” BBC Mundo, 23 October 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c709w5v9dq9o. Accessed 28 October 2025.
Debusmann Jr, Bernd. “US forces kill two in strike on alleged drug boat in the Pacific.” BBC, 23 October 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd9k2w8ell0o. Accessed 24 October 2025.
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