Pete Hegseth Puts On a Masterclass on How You Can You Tell If It’s a Narco-Boat

According to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on X, the boat was operated by Tren de Aragua, a designated terrorist organization. It’s not clear where the boat sailed from. As you can see, Hegseth said that prior to the strike on the boat, the Pentagon had ample intelligence that the vessel was involved in “illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.” 

This, of course, led to outcry from the American left, which wants to give known terrorist drug cartels due process before they even deliver their deadly poison to our shores. 

The Trump regime is escalating its threats to Venezuela.

10 airstrikes without due process have left at least 43 people dead with no proof of guilt or presumption of innocence.

We've become as lawless as the narco-terrorists.https://t.co/OMcUtqn2CB

— FloridaKeysDems *️⃣ DemCastFL Lead (@DemsKeys) October 24, 2025

Unfazed by the fake outrage, President Donald Trump put an exclamation point on the air strikes targeting cartel boats by saying, in effect, they don’t deserve due process or, when asked by a reporter about declaring war on the cartels, that that would not be necessary. 

JUST IN: 🇺🇸US President Donald Trump says "we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country." pic.twitter.com/eco2evVbKv

— Parrots Bulletin (@ParrotsBulletin) October 25, 2025

“I think we’re just gonna kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. They’re going to be…like…dead.” 

As is the left’s pattern, when it can’t pressure federal judges to stop the Trump administration from doing something, it will cry about “due process,” you know, that thing it sought to deny Trump and other conservatives every chance it got prior to the election. And when that doesn’t work, in this context, it will advance baseless claims that “innocent fishermen” (who coincidentally have illegal drugs in their boats) are being killed by U.S. drones. 

How many innocent fishermen had to die for the Malignant Narcissist's ego. How many wives and children are now homeless and may likely starve.

— Walt Corey (@WaltC81706) October 25, 2025

All of this brings me to this question: What does a narco-boat look like?  Here is one old picture from 2012, and I’ll try to break it down for you. 

According to the leftist legacy media, this is just a fishing boat that was blown up... pic.twitter.com/5f2KYrDqRa

— MikeF (@FLMikeF) October 24, 2025

Those blue barrels do not hold fish. Do you see any nets or fishing rods? No, those barrels hold the illegal cargo. Second, do you see those three outboard motors on the back? Most boats of that size that are used for fishing only need one. Narco-boats are known for speed, and to get that speed, they will have three or four outboard motors on the back. This enables them to outrun Coast Guard vessels (but not military missiles). 

Third, as Secretary Hegseth mentioned, narco-boats usually follow known narcotics smuggling routes. And while it should go with out saying, this needs to be said: When your Department of War has credible and actionable intelligence regarding a clear and present danger to Americans, we all expect it to defend the country, following the proper chain of command and orders. 

That is the left's lesson for the day from Secretary Hegseth. 

For extra credit, the U.S. Coast Guard provides a much more detailed description of what to look for in illegal drug-smuggling watercraft. 

“The shift to cocaine as the cargo of choice for drug smugglers also came with a shift in the type of vessel employed. While some cocaine smugglers continued to use the same types of fishing boats, sail boats, and coastal freighters that had been used to smuggle marijuana, many shifted to smaller, faster vessels — called “go-fasts” or fast boats. These were, as the terms suggest, propelled by high-powered outboard engines. Heading north from Colombia via both Caribbean and Eastern Pacific routes, they were hard to detect and harder to run down. Even supported by both long-range surveillance aircraft and cutter-embarked helicopters, cutters were hard-pressed to catch them.  

“Although the use of fast boats conferred several advantages on smugglers, these advantages were somewhat offset by the Coast Guard’s advances in detection technology and interdiction tactics. In response to increased seizures, smugglers advanced from using simple small fast boats to developing semi-submersibles, and to a much lesser degree, fully submersible vessels. No true, fully submersible vessels have actually been seized in the act of smuggling. Those that the press has called submersibles, have really been semi-submersibles. These are collectively called Low Profile Vessels (LPVs)."

According to the Coast Guard, a semisubmersible’s deck is “awash.” It looks like a submarine that has risen to the surface. These boats usually have a “conning tower” above the deck. This is used by crew for visual navigation. The cartels have found that these types of boats are harder to see from the air or from shore, and radar has a difficult time picking them up. 

Thanks to the federal Drug Trafficking Vessel Interdiction Act of 2008, the Coast Guard says it is illegal for anyone to “operate an unflagged submersible or semi-submersible vessel, with the intention of avoiding detection on the high seas — regardless of whether or not illegal drugs are onboard. Persons interdicted in a semisubmersible or submersible vessel in international waters may be prosecuted in the U.S. “ 

Here’s some good video of one that was taken in 2019. 

Today @VP will visit @USCG Cutter MUNRO as the crew returns to the U.S. w/ 39k lbs. of cocaine seized in 14 #USCG busts, including this semi-submersible off South America. We combat cartels far from U.S. borders where they are most vulnerable - at sea. https://t.co/JyVHFOvu2E pic.twitter.com/98Lq5d3Vdb

— Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (@ComdtUSCG) July 11, 2019

As a result of the recent wave of attacks on the cartels’ navy by the Pentagon, Trump has discovered yet another 80/20 issue, where the left will side with terrorist cartels and drug dealers who are killing Americans. Meanwhile Trump sides with at least 80% of Americans who don’t mind seeing these merchants of death blown to bits out in the middle of the ocean where no sailors, troops federal officers, or surrounding property are put at risk.