WASHINGTON, October 19. /TASS/. The US military struck a vessel allegedly used by the Colombian rebel group Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional to smuggle drugs in international water, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said.
"On October 17th, at the direction of [US] President [Donald] Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN), a Designated Terrorist Organization, that was operating in the USSOUTHCOM (US Southern Command - TASS) area of responsibility. The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was traveling along a known narco-trafficking route, and was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics. There were three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike—which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike," he wrote on his X page.
He compared South American cartels to the "Al Qaeda (a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia - TASS) of the Western Hemisphere" and warned that the US "will treat these organizations like the terrorists they are—they will be hunted, and killed, just like Al Qaeda."
Earlier in the day, Trump accused Colombian President Gustavo Petro of encouraging drug production and announced the cessation of US financial support for this country. He also warned about the potential use of force methods against Colombia if its authorities don’t intensify measures against drug production.