“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the US Southern Command said in a post on X, adding “no US military forces were harmed” in the operation.

President Donald Trump’s administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with alleged “narco-terrorists” operating out of Venezuela.

But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations, which have expanded from the Caribbean to the Pacific.

Late last month, the US military carried out another strike in the eastern Pacific, killing two alleged drug traffickers.

Last week, relatives of two Trinidadian men killed last year in a strike on a boat the military said was carrying drugs filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the US government.

It is the first such case to be brought against the Trump administration over its missile strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.