<p class="speakable">Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the U.S. military killed <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/world/terrorism/narco-terror" rel="noopener" target="_blank">14 alleged narco-terrorists</a> in a series of strikes against four suspected drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific.</p><p class="speakable">"All strikes were in international waters with no U.S. forces harmed," Hegseth added, noting that <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/donald-trump" rel="noopener" target="_blank">President Donald Trump</a> ordered the strikes targeting "Designated Terrorist Organizations (DTO) trafficking narcotics in the Eastern Pacific."</p><p>"The four vessels were known by our intelligence apparatus, transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics. Eight male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessels during the first strike," Hegseth said.</p><p>"Four male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the second strike. Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the third strike. A total of 14 narco-terrorists were killed during the three strikes, with one survivor," he added.</p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-kills-6-suspected-narco-terrorists-overnight-strike-alleged-drug-smuggling-boat-hegseth-says" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>US KILLS 6 SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORISTS IN OVERNIGHT STRIKE ON ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLING BOAT, HEGSETH SAYS</strong></a></p><p>"Regarding the survivor, USSOUTHCOM immediately initiated Search and Rescue (SAR) standard protocols; Mexican SAR authorities accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue," Hegseth also said.</p><p>"The Department has spent over TWO DECADES defending other homelands. 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," <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/person/pete-hegseth" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hegseth declared.</a></p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-deploys-ford-carrier-strike-group-combat-narco-terror-western-hemisphere" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><strong>US DEPLOYS FORD CARRIER STRIKE GROUP TO COMBAT NARCO-TERROR IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE</strong></a></p><p>Officials say dozens of suspected drug traffickers have been killed since Sept. 2, when the Trump administration began targeting boats allegedly carrying drugs. </p><p>Many of the strikes have unfolded in the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/category/world/world-regions/caribbean-region" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Caribbean.</a></p><p>Hegseth had announced on Friday that under direction from President Trump, the "Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Tren de Aragua (TdA), a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea. </p><p><a href="https://www.foxnews.com/apps-products?pid=AppArticleLink" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank"><strong><u>CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP</u></strong></a> </p><p>"Six male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters — and was the first strike at night," Hegseth said regarding that strike. "All six terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike."</p><p><i>This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.</i></p>