U.S. Eighth Strike First in Pacific; 34 Dead

The U.S. military carried out its eighth strike Tuesday night in the eastern Pacific off South America — its first known strike in the Pacific after seven earlier strikes in the Caribbean — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced, posting video of a boat exploding; officials said two (some reports 2–3) people were killed, bringing the campaign’s death toll to at least 34. The administration has told Congress it considers itself engaged in a “non‑international armed conflict” with drug cartels and has designated several groups as terrorist organizations; Hegseth likened traffickers to Al Qaeda and invoked wartime authorities to justify the strikes. Two survivors from an earlier strike were repatriated to Ecuador and Colombia; Ecuador later released one man for lack of evidence. Critics, some U.S. lawmakers and regional leaders have raised legal and evidentiary concerns about the use of lethal force instead of arrests and prosecutions. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has accused the U.S. of killing civilians and interfering in the region, and questions remain about the strikes’ locations, the origins of the vessels and transparency around the campaign.