Trump warns Somali pirates that Hegseth is 'authorized' to strike
President Donald Trump on Thursday warned Somali pirates that they would receive the same lethal treatment as alleged drug boat traffickers from Venezuela and elsewhere.
Trump, during a meeting of his Cabinet at the White House, said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was "totally authorized" to also use the U.S. military to strike Somali pirate boats used to board commercial ships off the African coast.
"They get the same missile that we give to the people that are bringing drugs," Trump said, with Hegseth seated directly next to him.
The Trump administration has launched dozens of strikes in recent months against what it alleges are drug boatsin the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, killing more than 120 people. The lethal strikes have raised several legal questions, though the administration has maintained it is acting within its authority.
The legal authority for all U.S. and European Union counterpiracy missions of Somalia comes from U.N. Security Council Resolutions beginning in 2008. ABC News has asked the White House whether Trump maintains that authority gives the U.S. the right to kill the Somali pirates.
"They know that if anybody even makes a move toward a ship, they get the ultimate treatment,"Trump said on Thursday. He said that his administration notified insurance companies "a number of months ago" that such action could happen.
But, Trump noted, "So far, we haven't seen anybody going out."
Incidents of maritime piracy have declined in recent years to some ofthe lowest levelsin decades.
In early November 2025,Somali pirates targeted the Maltese-flagged tanker"Hellas Aphrodite"with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades about 560 nautical miles southeast of Eyl, Somalia, according to the AP. The vessel was boarded, but the 24 crew members were secured by European Union naval forces.
The "Hellas Aphrodite" seizure was the first commercial ship seized by pirates off Somalia since May 2024. In 2025, there were five reported incidents off Somalia, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Trump's threat to Somali pirates comes amid his sharp focus on the East African country. Trump'sdescribed Somali immigrants as "garbage"and has said that the Somali community in Minnesota is to blame for alleged large-scale daycare fraud in the state.
The president has extended his attacks to include attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar, a Somali Americanwho represents Minnesota's 5th Congressional District.
"We see very little pirating nowadays. You used to have ships from taking every single -- like two or three a week, these massive ships had been brought into some place in Somalia, which I don't even know is a country," Trump said. "We have Ilhan Omar left. And then she gives us lectures on the Constitution of the United States. These people are -- and what they have done to rip off our country is terrible.But, the pirating is essentially stopped."
On Tuesday, Omar was charged by a man at a town hall in Minneapolis. At a news conference on Wednesday, shepinned the blame on Trumpfor his rhetoric against her. Trump had speculated Omar could have staged Tuesday's incident.
