WASHINGTON ‒ The Pentagon on Oct. 28 said it carried out three strikes on four alleged drug-smuggling vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing 14 people, in the most significant wave of attacks so far in President Donald Trump's military campaign targeting the flow of illegal narcotics.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said one individual survived the strikes, which he said took place on Oct. 27 in international waters. No United States service members were injured.

"The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands," Hegseth wrote in a post on X that included video footage of the strikes. "Now, we’re defending our own. These narco-terrorists have killed more Americans than Al-Qaeda, and they will be treated the same. We will track them, we will network them, and then, we will hunt and kill them."

The assaults bring the total number of airstrikes on boats to 13 ‒ and total deaths to at least 57 ‒ in a campaign that has drawn criticism from Democrats who question the legality of using deadly military force on targets that don't pose immediate threats to the U.S.

While the majority of the airstrikes have taken place in the Caribbean, the Defense Department on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22 conducted its first attacks in the Pacific Ocean, west of Central America.

Yet Trump still has not delivered evidence to Congress supporting claims that the alleged drug boats were carrying narcotics. Democrats in Congress have said they've received no information about the identities of those killed or the intelligence that showed the boats were trying to transport drugs into the U.S.

In February, Trump designated some drug cartels as "foreign terrorist organizations," a move administration officials argue gives them legal justification for the strikes.

Larger campaign looming?

Trump has blamed Venezuela and its president, Nicolás Maduro, for drugs originating from Venezuelan cartels illegally entering the U.S. Trump recently said he is considering military action on land targets in Venezuela after hailing the maritime attacks as a success.

The administration in recent months has also steadily built up military forces in the Caribbean, fueling speculation on whether Maduro himself is a target of the campaign.

The Navy currently has at least eight ships in the region, including three guided missile destroyers and a missile cruiser capable of launching Tomahawk guided missiles into Venezuela's interior.

Thousands of Marines are embarked aboard the ships, including infantry units with landing ships and Osprey aircraft that would enable them to operate on land.

Land-based Marine Corps F-35 fighter jets deployed to a base in Puerto Rico, and special operations troops are also deployed to the region.

The Air Force is repeatedly flying heavy bombers near the Venezuelan coast as a show of force, too.

And in his latest move, Hegseth recently ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier – the largest warship in the world – to deploy to the South American coast along with three additional guided missile destroyers. The Ford, which carries four squadrons of F/A-18 attack fighter jets and electronic warfare aircraft, is capable of a significant aerial bombing campaign.

The carrier, which was previously in the Mediterranean Sea, is expected to arrive in the Caribbean in early-to-mid November.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US kills 14 in strikes on alleged drug boats in Pacific, in deadliest maritime attacks yet

Reporting by Joey Garrison and Davis Winkie, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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