Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –
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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News
Washington, December 5 (Xinhua) — The U.S. military struck a suspected drug-smuggling vessel in international waters in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Thursday, killing all four people on board, U.S. Southern Command announced on social media.
The strike was carried out at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as part of ongoing counternarcotics operations by Joint Task Force Southern Spear. According to military officials, intelligence linked the vessel to an organization designated by the US government as a terrorist organization.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was carrying illegal drugs and was traveling along a known drug trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific. Four male drug terrorists on board were killed," the command reported, without providing evidence or revealing the identities of the deceased.
As of Thursday, the Pentagon has carried out at least 22 strikes on suspected drug vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since Sept. 2, killing more than 87 of their crew members.
These operations gained attention after a September 2 incident in the Caribbean Sea in which two survivors from a damaged vessel were killed in a follow-up strike.
Admiral Frank Bradley, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, testified before Congress on Thursday that Hegseth never gave the order to "kill everyone" aboard the suspected drug ships. He added that he considers the two people killed in the follow-up strike on September 2 to be legitimate military targets under counternarcotics operations regulations.
P. Hegseth said on Tuesday that while watching live coverage of the ship's attack on September 2, he did not see a second strike on survivors, blaming it on the "fog of war." –0–
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