U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced that, under the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, forces from Joint Task Force-Southern Spear (JTF-SS) carried out a strike on December 29 against a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in the Eastern Pacific. Intelligence indicated the vessel was traveling along a known trafficking route and carrying illicit narcotics. Two suspected narco-terrorists, believed to be members of a Designated Terrorist Organization (DTO), were killed in the operation.