More than a dozen killed as US attacks alleged drug boats in Pacific 'on Donald Trump's orders'

Fourteen people have died after the US launched its latest attacks on boats in the eastern Pacific Ocean, which it says were transporting illegal drugs to the country.

It brings the total number of dead from 13 airstrikes to 57, amid increasing tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.

A 30-second video posted on X by the US Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, showed four vessels exploding on Monday on what he said were the orders of US President Donald Trump.

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One of the boats appears to be piled high with packages.

Mr Hegseth, who is with Mr Trump on a tour of Asia, said US forces carried out "three lethal kinetic strikes on four vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations (DTO) trafficking narcotics".

They were identified as drug boats by US intelligence, he said, travelling on "known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics".

A total of 14 "male narco-terrorists" onboard were killed, he said, "with one survivor", who was rescued by Mexican authorities.

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," he added.

The condition and whereabouts of the survivor are not known.

It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean, and comes as Washington continues its military build-up in the latter, deploying guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, a nuclear submarine and thousands of troops.

The administration has ordered the USS Gerald Ford aircraft carrier and its supporting strike group to the region, and it is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.

Mr Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of leading a drug-trafficking organisation, which he denies.

Mr Maduro has repeatedly claimed that the US wants to drive him from power, while some in Venezuela believe the military build-up is aimed at destabilising his government and ultimately forcing regime change in Caracas.

Mr Trump has also authorised the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.

The Pentagon has provided little information about any of the strikes, including the quantity of drugs the boats allegedly carried and the identities of those killed.

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Democrats in Washington have asked whether the attacks comply with the laws of war, while legal experts have asked why the US Coast Guard, the main US maritime law enforcement agency, hasn't been involved and why other efforts to stop the shipments have not been tried first.

Venezuela's government says the strikes are illegal, amount to murder, and are acts of aggression.

In August, the Trump administration doubled its reward for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million (£38m).

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