White House highlights 'steepest' ever decline in US casualties from cartels amid boat strikes

Senior administration officials touted President Donald Trump's use of military force against cartels in the Western Hemisphere during a press call on Tuesday.

"So, the president directed, the Department of War executed, the first ever plan and strategy to use direct military force to defend the homeland from this threat," one of the officials said.

"The effects have been spectacular, and we've seen the largest and steepest reduction in U.S. casualties inflicted by the cartels in American history," the individual added.

US KILLS 4 ALLEGED DRUG SMUGGLERS ON BOAT IN CARIBBEAN, BRINGING TOTAL TO 227 IN 68 STRIKES

President Donald Trump points as he arrives to speak during a campaign rally for U.S. Sen. Darline Graham at Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Aug. 21, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

The official also indicated that the U.S. action "has created the political space — because we are now taking the fight to the cartels — for new governments to be elected that are going to partner directly with us to fight this battle."

"And so now you see governments all across the Western Hemisphere rising up, saying that they recognize this as a military threat, and they're gonna meet it as a military threat," the official noted, pointing to Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, and El Salvador as examples.

NEWLY UNCLASSIFIED PENTAGON IMAGES SHOW SUSPECTED DRUG BOATS AS OFFICIAL ISSUES DEADLY WARNING

An unclassified Pentagon image dated Oct. 29, 2025, shows a suspected drug-smuggling boat at sea. (Department of War)

One of the other officials noted that "U.S. Southern Command's counter-narcotics operations have driven record reductions in illicit maritime activity," which "includes a 65% reduction in the Western Caribbean," a decline of 60% for the eastern Caribbean, as well as "a nearly 50%" decrease in key regions of the Eastern Pacific.

With Trump as commander-in-chief, the U.S. military has executed dozens of deadly attacks against vessels of alleged "narco-terrorists."

The president's policy of using the lethal strikes against alleged drug traffickers has been controversial.

US KILLS TWO 'NARCO-TERRORISTS' IN STRIKE 2 MONTHS SINCE LAST ANNOUNCED ANTI-'NARCO-TRAFFICKING' ATTACK

President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth listen to questions from the press during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026. (Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images)

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An official on the call said that America's actions in the Western Hemisphere have yielded "a huge deterrent impact on bad actors all around the world" by showing the nation's "willingness to use lethal force to protect our core interests."