Casting the military campaign as a literal war on drugs, perhaps making the idea of intervention more palpable to the country, particularly the isolationist supporters who helped return him to the White House.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in a social media post, said the vessel was allegedly operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization but did not name which group was targeted.

The administration has said its strikes on small vessels are part of a crackdown on drug smuggling into the U.S.

The Trump administration has not provided evidence to suggest the boats it has been targeting in strikes were carrying narcotics

Paul’s office pointed PolitiFact to the US Coast Guard’s 2024 fiscal year report, which said that year the agency intercepted drugs in about 73 percent of cases when they boarded boats, with about 27 percent of vessel interceptions yielding no drugs.

Trump administration briefed Republicans on Wednesday about US military strikes on suspected drug boats without telling Democratic members about the briefing, according to a top Senate Democrat and a source with direct knowledge of the incident.