Secretary of War Pete Hegseth says US conducted its ninth strike against alleged drug vessels

President of Colombia Gustavo Petro Urrego addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025, at U.N. headquarters (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

Colombia has recalled its ambassador to the United States amid rising tensions between the two nations and comments by President Donald Trump about the South American country’s leader.

Colombian Foreign Minister Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio Mapy announced the move Monday.

"The ambassador of Colombia to the United States, Daniel García-Peña, has been recalled to Bogotá for consultations by President Gustavo Petro Urrego," Mapy wrote on X.

The decision came a day after Trump criticized Petro, calling him "an illegal drug leader strongly encouraging the massive production of drugs, in big and small fields, all over Colombia."

"It has become the biggest business in Colombia, by far, and Petro does nothing to stop it, despite large-scale payments and subsidies from the USA that are nothing more than a long-term rip-off of America," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "As of today, these payments, or any other form of payment or subsidies, will no longer be made to Colombia."

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that three male narco-terrorists were killed and " no U.S. forces were harmed" in the ninth strike against alleged drug vessels, which was the second in the Pacific Ocean.

"The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and was carrying narcotics," Hegseth said. "Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters."

"These strikes will continue, day after day. These are not simply drug runners—these are narco-terrorists bringing death and destruction to our cities," he also said.

Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday evening, President Donald Trump said the U.S. will "hit" drug smugglers attempting to enter the U.S. by land after a series of lethal strikes on cartel boats at sea.

The president was questioned about his use of military force to crack down on drug smugglers in the Caribbean and Pacific following strikes in recent weeks.

Trump acknowledged "it is violent" but said that "every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives."

"We have the greatest military in the world. We have the greatest weapons in the world. And you see a little bit of it there, one shot, every one dead center. And the only way you can’t feel bad about it is you realize … that every time you see that happen, you're saving 25,000 American lives.

Trump said, after these strikes, "there are very few boats traveling on the water, so now they'll come in by land to a lesser extent.

"And they will be hit on land also."

Colombia’s government says a fisherman killed in a recent U.S. strike near Venezuelan waters was not a drug trafficker — directly challenging Washington’s claim that its growing Caribbean campaign is hitting "narco-terrorist" targets and pushing relations with the key non-NATO ally into a new spiral.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who aligns politically with Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro, has had a combative relationship with President Donald Trump and is expected to challenge U.S. actions.

Yet Washington has released only limited evidence linking the targeted vessels to drug networks, and U.S. intelligence officials have declined to say how confident they are in the assessments that led to the strikes.

Over the weekend, U.S. Southern Command carried out a strike targeting a vessel it said was affiliated with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said three people were killed. 

"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," he said. "There were three male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike — which was conducted in international waters."

Petro, however, claimed the boat belonged to a Colombian fisherman. 

"The fisherman’s boat from Santa Marta was not from the ELN; it belonged to a humble family, lovers of the sea, from which they drew their food," he wrote on X. "What do you say to the family of Alejandro Carranza? He was a humble human being." 

Trump responded by lashing out at Petro, calling him an "illegal drug trafficker," announcing that the U.S. would cut off all counter-narcotics aid to Colombia, and again threatening steep tariffs. He also suggested that U.S. strikes could expand to Colombian territory. 

"Petro, a low-rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately, or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely," Trump said.  

Former Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzón warned that the once-close U.S.–Colombia alliance has "collapsed" under President Gustavo Petro, accusing the leftist leader of aligning with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and turning Colombia into a "narco-state."

Pinzón, who is weighing a presidential run, told Fox News Digital he could "repair U.S.-Colombian relations in a week" and urged international oversight of Colombia’s May elections amid what he called growing cartel influence and political corruption."

Petro has made himself an ally to [Venezuelan dictator Nicolás] Maduro's regime, a narco-state, and a regime that is held mainly by the Cartel de los Soles," Pinzón said. "He has justified the existence of drug trafficking in Colombia … he has aligned himself with the idea of something that he calls ‘Total Peace,’ which implies that he's providing benefits to drug traffickers and terrorist organizations and in general terms to organized crime."

Relations between Washington and Bogotá — historically one of the closest U.S. security partnerships in Latin America — have deteriorated sharply under Petro, who has sought warmer ties with Caracas while distancing Colombia from the U.S. and Western allies.

During his tenure as defense minister from 2011 to 2015 under President Juan Manuel Santos, Pinzón oversaw some of Colombia’s most aggressive operations against the FARC and other armed groups, helping drive coca production and kidnappings to historic lows. As ambassador to Washington from 2015 to 2017, he helped secure Colombia’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, expanding intelligence sharing and military training programs with the U.S. — partnerships he now says have been "dismantled" under Petro.

A U.S. military drone strike ordered by President Trump destroyed a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Oct. 22, 2025, killing three suspected narco-terrorists, according to the Department of War. (Department of War)

Nine strikes have been carried out by the U.S. military against suspected drug vessels since the start of September.

A total of 37 people have reportedly been killed in the strikes, while two survived and were later repatriated to their home countries.

Seven of the strikes happened in the Caribbean. The most recent two were in the Pacific Ocean, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

The Pentagon has refused to release the identities of those killed or evidence of drugs on board.

The Trump administration has been scrutinized in recent weeks over the strikes, including by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who raised concerns about killing people without due process and the possibility of killing innocent people.

Fox News Digital's Landon Mion contributed to this report.

The vessel was linked to Colombia's National Liberation Army, known as Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), Hegseth said. (Department of War)

Three alleged narco-terrorists were killed in a U.S. strike on a drug smuggling vessel affiliated with Colombia’s National Liberation Army, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced Sunday.

The "lethal kinetic strike" happened Friday in international waters at the direction of President Donald Trump, Hegseth wrote in a post on X.

"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," Hegseth wrote. "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 added.

Hegseth also shared unclassified video showing the moment of the strike.

Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) is a Designated Terrorist Organization. Hegseth likened the Colombian rebel group to the Al Qaeda terror group founded by Usama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the eighth strike against a suspected drug vessel, which was the first of two carried out by the U.S. in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, targeted a boat that was "being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization."

"Yesterday, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific. The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route, and carrying narcotics," Hegseth said in a post on X on Wednesday.

"There were two narco-terrorists aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. Both terrorists were killed and no U.S. forces were harmed in this strike," he added.

Earlier this week, Hegseth announced that three alleged narco-terrorists were killed in a U.S. strike on a drug smuggling vessel affiliated with Colombia’s National Liberation Army.

All previous strikes happened in the Caribbean.