Pete Hegseth announces new Caribbean drug task force

Minister of War Pete Hegseth The War Department is forming a new joint counter-narcotics task force in the Caribbean, she announced Friday.

Hegseth said the task force’s goal will be “to crush the gangs, stop the poison, and keep America safe. The message is clear: If you smuggle drugs toward our shores, we will stop you.”

The task force is launched in a direction President Donald TrumpHe said in Southcom’s region covering the Caribbean and Latin America.

US bombs another alleged drug smuggling boat near Venezuela, killing 4 people

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that the Department of War is forming a new joint task force to combat drugs in the Caribbean Sea. (Reuters/Elizabeth Frantz)

The task force was formed under the umbrella of 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force on Friday to “coordinate and enhance counternarcotics efforts throughout the Western Hemisphere,” US Southern Command said in a statement.

“Transnational criminal organizations threaten the security, prosperity and health of our hemisphere,” Adm. Alvin Hulsey, commander of Southern Command, said in a statement. “By forming a joint task force around the II MEF headquarters, we are strengthening our ability to detect, disrupt and dismantle illicit trafficking networks faster and at greater depth – alongside our counterparts in the United States and partner nations.”

Trump orders ‘lethal kinetic strike’ on drug smuggling boat in international waters, killing three people

This comes as the administration begins Strikes against boats In the Caribbean, it says it is linked to drug trafficking networks.

The administration launched a series of deadly strikes against four small boats believed to be carrying drugs over the past few months.

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had ordered a lethal strike on a ship linked to a designated terrorist organization operating in the US Southern Command area of ​​responsibility on September 19. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)

She added that 21 people were killed in the raids.

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The attacks alarmed Democratic lawmakers because the administration did not provide details of the evidence it had against the targeted boats or their passengers.