The Pentagon has shifted recent anti-smuggling strikes from the Caribbean to the eastern Pacific, where officials say intelligence more clearly links cocaine routes to the US. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the last four strikes were in the Pacific, part of 15 since September that have killed at least 61 people. Yet lawmakers say the administration hasn't shown evidence the boats carried drugs or identified those aboard, and briefers admitted they lack metrics for success. Officials now say the campaign targets cocaine, contradicting President Donald Trump's fentanyl claims, while bipartisan demands for legal justification and documents remain unanswered.

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