U.S. strikes eighth alleged drug-carrying boat, this time in Pacific Ocean, killing two folks

The Tuesday (October 21) night time strike occurred within the jap Pacific Ocean. The seven earlier strikes all focused vessels within the Caribbean. According to Mr. Hegseth in a social media submit, the strike killed two folks, bringing the dying toll from all of the strikes to not less than 34 folks. In a short video launched by Mr. Hegseth, a small boat, half-filled with brown packages, is seen transferring alongside the water. Several seconds into the video, the boat explodes and is seen floating immobile on the water in flames. In his submit, Mr. Hegseth took the bizarre step of equating the alleged drug traffickers to the group behind the September 11, 2001, assault.

“Just as Al Qaeda waged warfare on our homeland, these cartels are waging warfare on our border and our folks,” Hegseth stated, including “there can be no refuge or forgiveness — solely justice.” President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by asserting that the United States is engaged in an “armed battle” with drug cartels and is counting on the identical authorized authority utilized by President George W. Bush’s administration when it declared a warfare on terrorism after the September 11 assault.