In an unannounced visit to Puerto Rico on Monday, War Secretary told U.S. troops they are on the front lines of a coming battle with drug cartels that are “poisoning the American people.”

“Make no mistake about it, what you’re doing right now is not training. This is the real-world exercise on behalf of the vital national interest of the United States of America to end the poisoning of the American people,” Hegseth told the sailors and Marines aboard the USS Iwo Jima . “You’re trained. You’re prepared. You’re ready, and you’re lethal, and the American people are counting on you. … Narco terrorists and drug traffickers are on notice.”

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