A couple of days ago, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the U.S. had intercepted — with extreme BOOMY prejudice — a boat loaded with Tren de Aragua narcoterrorists out of Venezuela. A video that Hegseth declassified immediately showed the moment that these drug dealers won the ultimate FAFO prize, courtesy of an airstrike.
Naturally, Democrats like Chris Van Hollen seized the opportunity to laud another batch of the worst heroes in the world, siding not with the U.S. military and protecting America, but with the terrorists.
Last night, Hegseth spoke about the strike, smacking down a reporter who asked him what his authority was in terminating the evil existence of 11 people intent on spreading poison in the U.S.
His response was straight fire. Watch:
“I’d say we smoked a drug boat and there’s 11 narco-terrorists at the bottom of the ocean — and when other people try to do that, they’re gonna meet the same fate.”
Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military had the “absolute” authority to strike a Venezuelan boat carrying nearly a… pic.twitter.com/pK4cdv85wu
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 5, 2025
… nearly a dozen suspected Tren de Aragua gang members in the southern Caribbean Sea.
We haven’t checked in on Hunter Biden yet to see if his ears perked up about the possibility of ‘smoking a drug boat.’
Hegseth’s message was clear, though: There’s a new sheriff in town. That sheriff is going to END you if you try to smuggle drugs into the U.S., and no criminal-loving Democrat Senators or mewling media apparatchiks are going to stop it.
Our SecDef is a true warfighter, and he talks like one.
Semper Fi, sir! https://t.co/Vdpxsx3DrH— Richard H. (@WhizSquid) September 5, 2025
Best @SecDef ever.
Absolutely zero chill and I’m all for it.
Thank you and @POTUS for what you do Sir.🫡 https://t.co/7aezyyhuSx
— Aaron Walk (@dailylives87) September 5, 2025
https://t.co/5dFCyKZqcS pic.twitter.com/BR6NCEJLg7
— GetNtheNews (@GetNtheNews) September 5, 2025
Of course, not everyone was happy about Hegseth laying down the law and sending his warning to any other narcoterrorists who want to play stupid games with our national security. Only people who love and want to defend America appreciated his words.
This brings us to the other side of the coin, The Daily Beast, which was BIG MAD that Hegseth would exert his authority to protect the American people.
Pete Hegseth told reporters that the United States has “absolute and complete authority” to kill suspected drug smugglers in “defense of the American people.” https://t.co/Z4wkY2xAuM
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) September 5, 2025
Inside the article, it’s not difficult to discern that writer Catherine Bouris (who happens to be the size of a drug boat herself, yet tried to mock Dean Cain for training with ICE) was not at all happy.
Hegseth was asked by a reporter on Thursday what legal authority the Pentagon invoked when it conducted an airstrike in international waters against a boat that the Trump administration alleges was carrying 11 ‘narcoterrorists’ and members of the Venezuela-based crime group Tren de Aragua.
In a Wednesday appearance on Fox & Friends, Hegseth said, ‘We knew exactly who was in that boat, we knew exactly what they were doing, and we knew exactly who they represented, and that was Tren de Aragua … trying to poison our country with illicit drugs.’ He has thus far declined to reveal how the Pentagon identified the boat or those aboard as belonging to Tren de Aragua.
We’re not sure how to break this to Bouris, but Hegseth absolutely does not have to tell her about the intelligence methods the U.S. used to identify the drug-smuggling gang members.
Also, why did she put narcoterrorists in quotation marks? Does she think that’s a made-up word?
Thankfully, plenty of users on X put her and The Daily Beast in their place.
Siding with drug dealers is a hell of a flex…
Never change, Daily Beast.
— Vincent Charles: Roi De Tout, (Ret.) (@YesThatVCharles) September 5, 2025
Maybe Bouris is mad that she didn’t get to have margaritas with them.
That’s how you end drug trafficking. Imagine being an outraged Dem supporting traffickers lol
— DEMS ❤️ TRANS SCHOOL SHOOTERS (@DemMalesAreGay) September 5, 2025
We’re betting that Bouris never belched out a word of protest when Obama droned weddings … and American citizens.
The drone-killer-in-Chief approves. pic.twitter.com/pOGEa7mJcS
— Chris (@TheRealChrisCCI) September 5, 2025
The leftist media are nothing if not hypocritical.
It’s common sense we have the authority to do so. They are killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens.
— Gulliver Fitch (@GulliverFitch) September 5, 2025
Almost every year, the number of opioid deaths has surpassed the TOTAL number of Americans killed in the Vietnam War. https://t.co/vrOMV8pNtx
— Bethany S. Mandel (@bethanyshondark) September 5, 2025
The Daily Beast doesn’t care. They just hate Trump and everyone associated with him.
It’s wild to see how the media is reflexively defending drug cartels so they can continue to poison Americans.
What a devastating symptom of Trump Derangement Syndrome. https://t.co/RvWyLeiOr8
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) September 5, 2025
As many have said, Trump could announce a cure for cancer today, and the left would immediately start defending Stage 4.
Because it’s asymmetrical warfare. Geopolitical foes are poisoning Americans at greater numbers than lives lost in traditional warfare. There are more stratagems than just wearing red coats and standing in line, folks. https://t.co/frrsAi2Fwx
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) September 5, 2025
The Daily Beast wants different sets of rules for the administration. Bouris even ended her article by claiming that drug dealing does not qualify for the death penalty, neglecting the fact that Tren de Aragua thugs are not American citizens and the fact that the U.S. has designated TdA as a terrorist organization.
Sorry. Trump and Hegseth don’t play by those rules.
Who will stand up for the illegal drug runners who murder hundreds every year?
Democrats have literally lost their minds.
— Chris McGowne (@cjmcgowne) September 5, 2025
It’s true.
In Bouris’s case, though, we think that’s a small loss.
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Editor’s Note: Thanks to President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s bold leadership, we are respected on the world stage, and our enemies are being put on notice.
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