Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this fall publicly posted footage and announced a U.S. strike that destroyed a small vessel he said was carrying narcotics bound for America, calling the men aboard “narco-terrorists” and framing the action as part of a larger counternarcotics campaign. The clip he shared left no doubt the administration wants the public to see decisive action being taken against smugglers who poison our communities.
This operation was one of a series of lethal strikes the Pentagon has carried out against suspected drug-running boats, a campaign that has resulted in dozens of deaths and a rising, very real toll as the military chases narco-traffickers across international waters. Conservatives should be honest: a nation that refuses to defend its borders and seas will continue to be flooded with fentanyl and violence, and these operations are part of finally pushing back.
Predictably, the cable-news wagons circled and Democrats and parts of the legacy press began alleging misconduct after reports surfaced that a follow-up strike hit a burning vessel when survivors were allegedly in the water, sparking questions about rules of engagement and international law. The uproar has been magnified by outlets eager to take down a popular, pro-defense secretary rather than fairly report how messy real combat and interdiction operations can be.
Hegseth pushed back bluntly at a White House meeting, invoking the “fog of war” and saying he did not personally see survivors before a second strike was ordered — a reminder that battlefield decisions are often made on incomplete information and that armchair legalism from the press does nothing to stop drugs from reaching our kids. Americans who still believe in a strong defense should remember that hesitation and courtroom caution invite more death on our streets.
When outlets tried to pin fabricated quotes on the secretary, the War Department publicly accused at least one paper of false attribution, and conservative media rallied to defend Hegseth and the troops who carried out the interdictions. The pattern is familiar: the journalists who spent years apologizing for weakness now want to lecture commanders who finally choose to act.
Beyond the scolding and the headlines, the simple truth is that Americans are exhausted by talk and craving results. If the administration has credible intelligence tying these vessels to cartel networks that have slaughtered communities and poured poison into our towns, then commanders deserve the latitude to disrupt and destroy those transit routes.
Patriots should stand with leaders who stop the flow of narcotics and with the brave service members who take risk to protect our homeland, not with reporters who turn tactical ambiguity into a moral panic. Washington would do well to back our warfighters, tighten oversight where needed, and stop tolerating the drug cartels and the media narratives that enable them.
