The US military said to have launched strikes on three alleged drug boats on Monday, February 16, killing 11 people in the operation. A message released by the US Southern Command on Tuesday claims 11 “male narco-terrorists” were killed. US military officials said four died on one vessel located in the Eastern Pacific, four on a second vessel also in the Eastern Pacific and three aboard of a third vessel in the Caribbean.

The US Southern Command said in a social media post: “Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations.” The operation was carried out by the Joint Task Force Southern Spear under the direction of commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

The X message, which also included a clip showing the strikes being carried out against the boats, also claimed “intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations”. The video didn’t immediately appear to provide information confirming this claim.

During the operation conducted late on Monday night, no US military person were injured, the military added.

A total of 42 strikes have been carried out by the Trump administration on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean since September, when the US President called on his country’s military to attack “narco-terrorists” on small vessels.

Last week, the US Southern Command carried out two other strikes on boats they claimed were carrying people suspected of drug trafficking.

However, the pace of strikes appears to have declined since early January, when US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an operation launched on Caracas.

The Trump administration has accused Mr Maduro of cooperating with drug‑trafficking networks, an allegation he has denied, and he has been charged at a Manhattan court with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said the overall operation on alleged drug boats is aimed at removing “narco-terrorists from our hemisphere” and securing the US from “the drugs that are killing our people”.

Some legal experts have said the strikes in international waters could be illegal, but the Trump administration has maintained they are lawful with Donald Trump stating the US is in “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs.