Tensions flare in the eastern Pacific as U.S. forces launch precision missile strikes on suspected narco-trafficking vessels, marking a major strategic shift from the Caribbean front. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the operation was carried out under direct presidential authorization, the first of its kind in Pacific waters. According to defense intelligence, the vessels were tied to transnational narcotics routes, leading to the deaths of five suspected narco-terrorists. The strike destroyed one small blue boat in open waters, followed by a second hit hours later on another target along a known smuggling corridor.