Pete Hegseth

in an armed conflict with drug cartels.

Carrie Khan, NPR News, Rio de Janeiro.

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In today's Back of the Brief, fresh off President Trump's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the U.S.

Trump believes the strikes are necessary because they're preventing drugs from entering the U.S.

Drug policy experts say those numbers are overstated, given overall drug death stats in the U.S.

The administration has not shared any details regarding evidence used to target the boats or what was on board.

Trump argued the U.S.

is allowed to carry out the attacks because they're happening on international waters.

Sage Miller, NPR News.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said another strike had occurred on Friday and that that boat belonged to a leftist Colombian guerrilla group.

Three were killed in that attack.

And Colombia's president said what the U.S.

blew up was a fishing vessel.

I think the big picture here is that it has been decades since the U.S.

military has taken this kind of posture in the Americas.

So the region is tense.