Hegseth says US carried out 3 strikes on alleged drug-running boats in eastern Pacific, killing 14

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the US military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the Eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor. (X/@SecWar)
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Updated 28 October 2025
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Hegseth says US carried out 3 strikes on alleged drug-running boats in eastern Pacific, killing 14

  • The announcement marks a continued escalation in the pace of the strikes
  • This was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day

WASHINGTON: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the US military carried out three strikes Monday in the waters of the Eastern Pacific against boats suspected of carrying drugs, killing 14 and leaving one survivor.
The announcement made on social media Tuesday, marks a continued escalation in the pace of the strikes, which began in early September spaced weeks apart.

This was the first time multiple strikes were announced in a single day.
Hegseth said Mexican search and rescue authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the sole survivor but didn’t say if that person would stay in their custody or be handed over to the US
In a strike earlier in October which had two survivors, the US military rescued the pair and later repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador.


US Homeland Security to pause two key travel programs amid shutdown, Washington Post says

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US Homeland Security to pause two key travel programs amid shutdown, Washington Post says

  • DHS began a ‌partial ⁠shutdown last week ⁠after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms
‌The US Department of Homeland Security will temporarily suspend from Sunday its PreCheck and Global Entry programs that speed airport security checks for some travelers, the Washington Post said, due to a shutdown at much of the agency.
The halt in the programs run by the DHS will begin from 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT), the newspaper cited an ‌agency spokesperson as ‌saying on Saturday.
DHS began a ‌partial ⁠shutdown last week ⁠after Republicans and Democrats failed to reach a deal on immigration enforcement reforms.
The pause in programs is among the emergency measures DHS is taking to redirect staffing more than a week after Congress failed to send ⁠it more money, the paper ‌said.
The agency is “making ‌tough but necessary workforce and resource decisions” and prioritizing ‌the “general traveling population” at entry points, the ‌paper cited Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as saying in a statement.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report. The DHS did not immediately respond ‌to a request for comment.
TSA’s PreCheck program allows approved passengers through ⁠a dedicated, ⁠faster security lane at US airports and is designed to reduce wait times and streamline screening.
Global Entry expedites US customs and immigration clearance for pre-approved, low-risk international travelers entering the United States.
On Thursday, the Trump administration ordered the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a part of the DHS, to suspend the deployment of hundreds of aid workers to disaster-affected areas, due to the DHS shutdown.