The death toll resulting from U.S. strikes in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific has now topped 65 following the latest attack on Tuesday.
The strike took place on Tuesday in the Eastern Pacific and killed two people, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
He said in a social media post that "intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics."
Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO).
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) November 5, 2025
Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known… pic.twitter.com/OsQuHrYLMp
Overall, 66 people have been killed in the strikes, according to the New York Post. "We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens," Hegseth added. "Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority. NO cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military," he concluded.
Strikes continue as the Trump administration escalates pressure against the Maduro regime in Venezuela in Caracas. In this context, top official Diosdado Cabello claimed that the "high spheres" in the U.S. government are discussing "regime change" in the country.
"No one talks about Tren de Aragua or drug-trafficking anymore," said Diosdado Cabello during a televised address this week. "The empire won't change In thinking Venezuela is its backyard," he added.
The statement comes as the USS Gerald R. Ford continues heading to the Caribbean, a move that could signal that U.S. airstrikes on Venezuela are nearer, according to a Latin America specialist whose scholarship includes a detailed study of the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.
In remarks published this week by La Vanguardia, the historian said that if President Donald Trump were preparing to use military force against Venezuela from the Caribbean, "the first thing to look for in the fleet is an aircraft carrier." He described the arrival of the USS Gerald R. Ford — the world's largest carrier, equipped with more than 75 aircraft including 24 Super Hornet strike fighters — as "undoubtedly a sign they may be closer to carrying out airstrikes."
The researcher, a former U.S. Army member and now professor at George Washington University, told La Vanguardia that any potential strike would be aimed primarily at domestic political audiences rather than removing Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. "The Trump administration could carry out some kind of small-scale airstrike," he said. "Not to take control of the country or kill Maduro. I have no idea what they would intend to achieve."
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