US-Colombia Tensions Rise Over Naval Strikes on Drug Vessels

The Colombian government has called on the US to stop attacking vessels in the Pacific and Caribbean as part of an operation targeting drug smuggling. The US has conducted at least nine such attacks, resulting in 37 deaths. Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has been at odds with US President Trump, exchanging angry threats over the issue. Petro argues that the US should focus on capturing the leaders of drug cartels rather than killing lower-level traffickers. The Colombian government has reiterated its commitment to fighting drugs, but wants to do so through diplomatic channels.

The US military has conducted another strike in the Eastern Pacific, targeting a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO) allegedly engaged in narco-trafficking. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announced that three suspected narco-terrorists were killed in the strike, which was ordered by President Donald Trump. This is the ninth vessel strike since September and the second in the Eastern Pacific, with a total of 37 killed and two repatriated. The Trump administration has faced scrutiny over the strikes, with concerns raised about due process and the possibility of killing innocent people. Hegseth emphasized that the strikes will continue, characterizing the DTOs as the 'Al Qaeda' of the hemisphere and vowing to find and kill them until the threat to the American people is extinguished.

The US military carried out a strike on a suspected drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, October 21, 2025, killing two alleged narco-terrorists. This was the eighth strike conducted by the Trump administration against suspected drug smuggling vessels, with previous strikes taking place in the Caribbean. The vessel was allegedly operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and was involved in narco-trafficking. The strike was carried out at the direction of President Donald Trump. The US military has been conducting a campaign against suspected drug smuggling vessels as part of Trump's broader effort to dismantle transnational cartels by force. The death toll from the strikes is at least 34.