Hegseth Says ‘We Have the Absolute Authority’ To Kill Alleged Drug Traffickers

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed sweeping powers for the Trump administration on Thursday, stating that the government has “the absolute authority” to kill suspected drug traffickers in international waters.

This week, the U.S. military conducted a strike on a speedboat in the Caribbean that President Donald Trump said was carrying 11 “narcoterrorists” from Venezuela. The president posted a video of the strike on his Truth Social account.

“The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States,” Trump said. “The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action.”

Trump’s claim has not been independently confirmed. Under U.S. law, drug trafficking is not punishable by death.

On Thursday, Fox News tweeted a video of Hegseth taking a question from a reporter.

“Mr. Secretary, what legal authority did the Pentagon invoke to strike that boat full of drug smugglers?” she asked.

“We have the absolute authority and complete authority to conduct that,” Hegseth replied. “First

of all, just the defense of the American people alone. A hundred thousand Americans were killed each year under the previous administration because of an open border and open drug traffic flow. That is an assault on the American people.”

The secretary added, “I’d say we smoked a drug boat, and there’s 11 narcoterrorists at the bottom of the ocean. And when other people try to do that, they’re gonna meet the same fate.”

On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance gave a similarly evasive response about the legal justification for the strike.

“I mean, the legal authority, and I want to talk about these kids, is that there are people who are bringing literal terrorists, who are bringing deadly drugs into our country, and the President of the United States ran on a promise of stopping this poison from coming into our country,” Vance said.