US military has all the authorities necessary to strike drug cartels, says Pete Hegseth as criticism grows | World News
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during the 4th annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit at Purdue University Fort Wayne. (Photo: AP)
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has reiterated that the military has the authority to destroy drug-trafficking vessels in South American waters. Speaking at the 4th Annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit held in Fort Wayne, Indiana, Hegseth also defended the Trump adminration’s move to consider drug cartels as terror groups.
“We got lawyers on lawyers, all the authorities necessary to do so, treating these terrors like the al-Qaida of the Western Hemisphere,” Hegseth said.
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19 strikes, 76 deaths
His comments come on the backdrop of raising concerns over the legality of the military’s strikes on alleged drug-trafficking vessels in the Pacific and in the Caribbean.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth speaks during the 4th annual Northeast Indiana Defense Summit at Purdue University Fort Wayne, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Fort Wayne, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
Since September, the US military has carried out 19 air strikes on 20 vessels, accused of trafficking drugs, killing 76 people.
Countries stop sharing intel with US
Though the Trump adminration has argued that the military action is necessary to curb the flow of drugs into the United States, the US is increasingly becoming isolated globally over the issue.
While neighbouring countries, including Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, have condemned the strikes, the UK and the Netherlands have stopped sharing intelligence with Washington about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean because they believe the attacks are illegal.
The United States has publicly justified its actions as consent with Article 51 of the founding UN Charter, which requires the UN Security Council to be immediately informed of any action states take in self-defense against armed attack.
While acknowledging the US justification for the strikes, a group of independent UN experts said last month: “Even if such allegations were substantiated, the use of lethal force in international waters without proper legal basis violates the international law of the sea and amounts to extrajudicial executions.”
Rubio to face questions form G7 foreign miners
According to a Reuters report, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio may face questions from allies over the strikes during a meeting of G7 foreign miners on maritime security in Canada on Wednesday.
From left, Foreign Miners European Union’s Kaja Kallas, Japan’s Toshimitsu Motegi, Britain’s Yvette Cooper, France’s Jean-Noel Barrot, Canada’s Anita Anand, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Germany’s Johann Wadephul and Italy’s Antonio Tajani pose for a family photo during the G7 Foreign Miners’ meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/Pool Photo via AP)
French Foreign Miner Jean-Noel Barrot on Tuesday criticised US strikes.
“We have observed with concern the military operations in the Caribbean region, because they violate international law and because France has a presence in this region through its overseas territories, where more than a million of our compatriots reside,” Barrot said on the sidelines of the G7.
A senior European official on Wednesday said that the G7 meeting would be “the ideal place” for them to be discussed, though it was not officially on the agenda.
“This is where we are supposed to exchange views on controversial issues – and what the U.S. is doing in the Caribbean is concerning for everyone,” the European official was quoted as saying Reuters.
