WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States military said Monday it carried out a strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said in a post on X that the strike, which took place Sunday, targeted a vessel “operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific”.

“Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking,” it added.

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

Grainy black-and-white video footage accompanying the post showed a boat moving through the water before a large explosion.

The US military launched operation “Southern Spear” in early September, with President Donald Trump arguing Washington is effectively at war with drug cartels operating out of Latin America.

Since then, more than 200 people have been killed in strikes in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, according to a tally by AFP.

Trump’s administration has not provided definitive evidence that the vessels it has been striking are involved in drug trafficking.

Legal experts and rights groups say the strikes could amount to extrajudicial killings.