U.S. Strike Kills 4 on Boat Trump Says Was Smuggling Drugs NYT | Top Stories By: Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt 14 November 2025 at 08:25 The strike in the Caribbean brings the death toll in the Trump administration’s lethal campaign to 80 since early September. © Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesThe administration said U.S. strikes on boats were lawful because President Trump had “determined” that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels.