The Big Story 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Defense Department is forming a new counternarcotics joint task force in order to “crush” drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea. 

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Hegseth said the new task force, established at the direction of President Trump, will operate in the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) area of responsibility. 

“At the President’s direction, the Department of War is establishing a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in the @SOUTHCOM area of responsibility to crush the cartels, stop the poison and keep America safe,” Hegseth said in a post on the social platform X. 

“The message is clear: if you traffic drugs toward our shores, we will stop you cold,” he added. 

The formation of the task force comes as the Trump administration has launched four strikes against alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea in recent weeks. The strikes have killed 21 in total, according to the administration. 

The most recent strike, which occurred earlier this month, blew up the vessel — purportedly carrying narcotics in international waters — and killed four people, Hegseth said at the time. 

Trump has railed against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, accusing the leader of overseeing a massive influx of illegal drugs into the U.S. 

The president notified Congress last week that the U.S. is now at war with drug cartels that the administration has designated as terrorist organizations, offering legal rationale for strikes against vessels in the Caribbean off the coast of Venezuela. The first strike took place in early September. Democrats have hammered the administration over the strikes, deeming them illegal. 

Read the full report at thehill.com.

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