The US military said six people were killed in a strike on a suspected drug trafficking vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, the Associated Press reported, BTA reported.
Yesterday's attack brought the death toll to at least 157 since the Trump administration launched a campaign against what it calls "narco-terrorists" on small vessels in early September last year.
US Southern Command said the operation targeted suspected drug traffickers on known smuggling routes. This echoes claims made in more than 40 strikes in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean, the AP notes.
The US military has not provided evidence that the vessel was transporting drugs. A video posted on the social media site X shows a boat being blown up while underway.
US President Donald Trump has said the US is in a "military conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs to the United States. However, his administration has provided little evidence to support its claim that it is killing "narco-terrorists".
During a meeting with leaders of several Latin American countries on Saturday, Trump urged them to join the US in taking military action against drug cartels and transnational groups. He said they pose an "unacceptable threat" to regional security. The United States and Ecuador last week carried out military operations against organized crime groups in the South American country. Trump sought to show that he remains focused on U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere, even as he wages a war with Iran that has repercussions across the Middle East. Critics have questioned the legality of the boat strikes and their effectiveness, particularly because the drug fentanyl, which has led to many deadly overdoses, is most often smuggled into the United States by land through Mexico, where it is manufactured with chemicals imported from China and India, the AP notes. The strikes have drawn sharp criticism after it was revealed that the military killed survivors of the first such attack in a second strike. The Trump administration and many Republican lawmakers argue that this is legal and necessary, while Democrats and legal experts say these deaths are murders and perhaps war crimes.