Trump Dea Admits Hegseth’s 67 Deadly Drug Boat Strikes Have Not Stopped Cocaine From Flooding Into The Us: Report

Despite sidesplitting astatine slightest 221 group successful dozens of U.S. airstrikes targeting alleged drug-trafficking boats successful nan eastbound Pacific and Caribbean, Donald Trump’s management has reportedly admitted that nan attacks haven’t slowed nan travel of cocaine into nan U.S.

Instead, traffickers are relying connected planes hopping crossed nan interior of Central and South America, aliases utilizing larger boats and sailing adjacent to coastlines wherever U.S. forces are little apt to strike, according to The Washington Post, citing a antecedently unreported appraisal from nan Drug Enforcement Administration.

American subject assets under Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth person struck astatine slightest 67 boats successful world waters complete nan past year, sidesplitting astatine slightest 221 group connected board. More than 20 group are missing aliases presumed dead, and location are only 9 known survivors, according to The Independent’s study of nan attacks.

The months-long attacks look to person done small to combat nan travel of illicit narcotics into nan country, raising questions astir nan effectiveness of an cognition that rule of warfare experts opportunity amounts to extrajudicial killings and warfare crimes.

“When you compression nan balloon connected 1 side, it ever expands connected nan different side,” 1 DEA charismatic speaking connected information of anonymity told The Washington Post. “They ever find nan anemic spots and utilization them.”

U.S. subject forces and national rule enforcement are simultaneously intercepting suspected supplier boats and recovering contraband, suggesting that nan U.S. tin deploy rule enforcement to extremity nan travel of narcotics into nan state without sidesplitting everyone connected board.

Top subject officials — including nan commandant successful complaint of nan run — besides told members of Congress successful caller hearings that nan killings are not nan only measurement to extremity them.

It remains unclear whether nan subject will proceed nan attacks. The astir caller onslaught was much than a period ago, connected June 21, marking nan longest break betwixt attacks since nan run started connected September 2.

A spokesperson for nan Department of Defense told The Washington Post that Operation Southern Spear accomplished “exactly what it was designed to do: detect, disrupt and dismantle designated violent organizations and nan networks they trust connected to postulation narcotics, make illicit revenue, and frighten nan information of nan United States and nan Western Hemisphere.”

“Transnational criminal organizations person continually adapted their strategies for decades,” main Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell told nan newspaper. “That does not bespeak nan unit is ineffective. It demonstrates that we are imposing systemic clash connected their operations.”

The Independent has requested remark from U.S. Southern Command and nan DEA.

In a closed-door briefing pinch members of nan Senate Armed Service committee past month, DEA officials reported that study of confiscated cocaine showed precocious levels of purity, according to The Post.

Cocaine, by acold nan most-exported supplier from South America, “remains highly available, highly prevalent and comparatively inexpensive,” Dr. Carl Latkin, a professor of nationalist wellness astatine Johns Hopkins University, told The New York Times earlier this year.

The reports from Trump management officials look to contradict nan president’s ain nationalist statements. He has many times claimed that nan attacks person stopped maritime supplier trafficking into nan state by 97 aliases 98 percent.

“98.2% of Drugs coming into nan U.S. by Ocean aliases Sea person STOPPED!” Trump wrote connected Truth Social successful April.

The Trump management insists that strikes against suspected traffickers are afloat wrong ineligible bounds, supported by nan administration’s announcement to Congress that nan U.S. is formally engaged successful an “armed conflict” pinch supplier cartels that nan president has branded “unlawful combatants.”

“They are execution nether home rule and extrajudicial killings nether world quality authorities law,” according to a caller study from nan Washington Office connected Latin America, a nonprofit quality authorities investigation group.

“They are nan consequence of nan executive branch’s reckless usage of nan ‘terrorist’ explanation to alteration employing nan U.S. subject to target civilians,” according to nan report. “Their deaths travel pinch nary position of immoderate grounds of wrongdoing, overmuch little immoderate owed process for those being attacked.”

The strikes began past September erstwhile nan subject targeted a alloy disconnected nan seashore of Venezuela, sidesplitting 11, including an alleged double-tap onslaught that killed 2 survivors.

The management sought to nexus ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro to nan supplier waste and acquisition contempt reports from intelligence agencies that person denied ties betwixt nan group and Maduro’s government.

Virtually each coca crops are wrong Bolivia, Peru and Colombia, and nan DEA nether Trump did not mention Venezuela successful a 2025 study connected nan authorities of cocaine trafficking.

Global cocaine accumulation has reached an all-time high, according to a caller study from nan U.N. Office connected Drugs and Crime. Cocaine manufacturing quadrupled to 4,100 tons betwixt 2014 to 2024, nan agency’s 2026 World Drug Report found.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Coast Guard unit are besides intercepting larger quantities of drugs, which researchers opportunity isn’t needfully a motion that rule enforcement agents are stopping nan travel of forbidden drugs. Those seizures are much apt typical of nan measurement of narcotics moving into nan U.S.

On conscionable 1 vessel successful December, Coast Guard unit recovered 3,715 pounds of cocaine worthy an estimated $28 million, marking nan largest bust by a small-boat Coast Guard position successful 30 years, according to nan agency.

That aforesaid Coast Guard outpost stopped vessels carrying 1,535 pounds of cocaine successful May and 900 pounds connected different alloy later that month.

Marine Gen. Francis L. Donovan, who is overseeing nan strikes arsenic caput of U.S. Southern Command, besides testified to nan Senate Armed Forces Committee successful March that nan strikes are “probably not nan astir effective tool” and “aren’t nan answer.”

“But putting full systemic clash from constituent of accumulation to constituent of delivery,” nan four-star Marine Corps serviceman told nan panel, “I judge that really kinetic strikes will beryllium 1 of nan galore tools.”

According to nan Washington Office connected Latin America, nan strikes are “more than conscionable a counter-drug strategy gone awry.”

“They person sedate implications for U.S. democracy, transparency, checks connected executive power, and civil-military relations,” nan group reported. “They are emblematic of an aggressive, militarized reset of U.S. relations pinch Latin America that could group backmost causes that quality rights, democracy, environmental, and anti-corruption advocates person defended for complete half a century.”