WASHINGTON, March 17 (Reuters) – The United States military has so far killed 157 alleged members or affiliates of drug organizations in 45 strikes against drug trafficking vessels in the Western Hemisphere, a senior U.S. defense official said on Tuesday.
Since September 2025, the United States military has carried out a series of strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific against suspected drug vessels.
The lethal strikes are part of a broader campaign that the Trump administration says is aimed at cutting off the supply of illegal drugs. Legal experts and Democratic lawmakers have questioned the legality of the strikes.
In a written statement to lawmakers, Joseph Humire, a senior Pentagon official responsible for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, said 47 “narco-trafficking vessels” had been destroyed in the strikes so far.
Humire said the strikes had a “significant and profound” impact, including a 20% reduction in the movement of drug vessels in the Caribbean and a 25% reduction in the Eastern Pacific.
While the United States has put out videos after most of the strikes on social media, it has provided few other details, such as what type of drugs the vessels were carrying, how much or details about those killed.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
