On November 10, 2025, the United States military carried out a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel allegedly affiliated with “a Designated Terrorist Organization,” reportedly killing four men described as “narco-terrorists” in international waters in the Caribbean Sea.

On November 13th CBS News was the first to report on the strike, initially quoting a Pentagon official as stating that the strike had occurred on Tuesday (November 11th) and “targeted a vessel in the Caribbean Sea and killed four people on board.” CBS later updated their reporting to reflect that the strike occurred on November 10th after having further confirmation from a Pentagon official. CNN also reported that according to a Department of Defense official, “The strike occurred in the Caribbean and four narco-terrorists were killed, no survivors.” The New York Times provided similar information from Pentagon officials, adding that ” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was waiting for video of the strike….before announcing it on social media.”

This strike was later announced by U.S. Southern Command @Southcom on Twitter/X on November 14th, four days after the strike. The statement detailed that the strike on November 10th was on a vessel allegedly “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics”. In a black and white video included in the post, a boat can briefly be seen moving through the water until it erupts into what appears to be flames and smoke, and is then shown in flames from multiple angles.

There were no additional details found among local sources about the victims.

Methodological note about classification of those killed in this incident

In documenting this incident, Airwars is following the guidance outlined by independent International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law experts, whereby those on the vessels are understood to be civilians, given that the legal framework in which the strikes are being conducted remains in question.

Airwars has therefore included a civilian casualty count of four deaths.