An unidentified administration official described recent strikes in the Pacific as operations against well-funded drug cartels the official called “narcoterrorists,” and said those actions were based on intelligence tracking maritime shipments.

The official said the operations targeted boats and shipments that were tracked from their formation through coordination and transit. “I can assure you that every 1 of these strikes involves boats and shipments that were tracked from the very beginning,” the official said. He added decisions to strike go through a “very rigorous process” and that there are “many strikes that we walk away from” when criteria are not met.

The official blamed parts of the narcotics flow on what he described as assistance from the Venezuelan government, citing an indictment by the Southern District of New York. “They allow drug traffickers to use Venezuelan territory. Not only do they allow them, they assist them,” he said, referring to the Maduro regime as operating as a “transshipment cartel.” The official reiterated that the strikes are distinct from cooperation with regional partners and said countries in the Pacific and Central America — including Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama and Mexico — have provided greater cooperation in counter-drug operations than in parts of the Caribbean Basin.

The official also cited a recent Colombian congressional vote — “72 to 20” — to describe Colombia's legislative action to designate the Venezuelan regime as a narcoterrorist organization. He said the U.S. has partners in the Pacific who are “helping us, that are assisting us in counter drug operations,” and that U.S. forces possess unique capabilities not shared by all partners.

When asked whether the strikes involved nationals of specific countries, the official said multiple nationalities have been seen but declined to comment on specifics. He said some strikes may involve Ecuadorian or Venezuelan nationals but deferred details to defense authorities.