A US raid on an alleged drug-carrying vessel has killed six suspected “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean, the US defense secretary said on Friday. Pete Hegsethin the latest operation of US President Donald Trump’s anti-drug campaign in the region.

In a post on X, Hegseth said this was the first attack carried out at night as part of the campaign that began in September. The attack took place overnight and the ship was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, Hegseth added.

In particular, Hegseth states via his post on X:

Overnight, at the behest of President Trump, the Department of Defense carried out a deadly attack on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua, a designated Terrorist Organization that trafficked drugs in the Caribbean Sea.

The ship was known to our intelligence services to be involved in drug trafficking, was crossing a known drug trafficking route and was carrying drugs. Six male narco-terrorists were on board during the attack, which took place in international waters and was the first night-time attack. All six terrorists were killed and no American soldiers were injured during the attack.

If you are a narco-terrorist who traffics drugs into our hemisphere, we will deal with you as we deal with Al Qaeda. Day or night, we will map your networks, track down your people, hunt you down and kill you.