The United States military has killed at least three people in a strike on a boat in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, which it claims was involved in drug smuggling operations, according to US Southern Command.

The strike, carried out on Thursday, is the latest in a growing series of maritime attacks attributed to the Trump administration’s expanded anti-narcotics campaign in international waters.

US Southern Command said in a statement on social media that forces conducted a “lethal kinetic strike on a vessel operated by Designated Terrorist Organisations,” alleging the boat was traveling along known trafficking routes carrying narcotics from Latin America toward the United States.

Officials said intelligence confirmed the vessel was engaged in drug trafficking activity. A video released by the military appeared to show a fast-moving boat being struck by a missile and engulfed in flames.

Three individuals described by the US as “narco-terrorists” were killed in the attack.

With Thursday’s strike, at least 211 people have now been killed in similar US operations targeting boats in the Pacific, according to publicly released military figures.

The Trump administration has stated that it considers drug cartels part of an “armed conflict” and says the strikes are part of efforts to disrupt narcotics flows into the United States.

The operations have drawn sustained criticism from lawmakers, legal experts, and human rights organizations, who have questioned both the legal basis for the strikes and the evidence used to justify lethal force.

Critics argue that the US has not publicly provided verifiable proof linking all those killed to organized trafficking networks, raising concerns that some victims may have been fishermen or civilians with no cartel ties.

US senators have recently called on the Pentagon to release unedited footage and clearer evidence from the maritime strike campaign.

The campaign has faced additional scrutiny following earlier incidents, including a September strike in which survivors of an initial attack were reportedly killed in a follow-up “double-tap” operation. Eleven people died in that incident.

While the administration has defended the tactic as self-defense, legal experts and rights groups argue that targeting survivors raises serious questions under international humanitarian law.

As maritime strikes continue, debate is intensifying over whether the US campaign constitutes lawful counter-narcotics enforcement or an expanding use of military force in situations traditionally handled by law enforcement agencies. (ILKHA)