US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said the strike occurred on Sunday and targeted a vessel operating along established narcotics-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific.

The command said that intelligence had confirmed the vessel’s active involvement in drug trafficking.

“This operation is a clear and decisive reminder that SOUTHCOM is taking the fight directly to the cartels,” it said in a post on X.

The announcement was accompanied by grainy black-and-white video footage showing a boat travelling through the water before a large explosion occurred.

Part of Southern Spear operation

The strike forms part of the US military’s Southern Spear operation, launched in September as President Donald Trump’s administration stepped up its campaign against drug cartels in Latin America.

According to an AFP tally, more than 200 people have been killed in US strikes across the Eastern Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea since the operation began.

The Trump administration has not provided conclusive evidence that the vessels targeted in the strikes were involved in drug trafficking.

Legal experts and human rights groups have raised concerns about the legality of the operations, saying the strikes could constitute extrajudicial killings.