US military kills three in new strike on suspected drug boat

The US military has once again attacked a suspected drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three men in an operation on Sunday, the regional command posted online.

"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 wrote on X.

The information provided by the military could not initially be independently verified.

On the orders of US President Donald Trump, the military began attacking boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific last year that are allegedly used to smuggle drugs into the United States, with people on the boats often killed in the process.

Critics doubt whether the deadly attacks in international waters are in line with international law.

The US has a major drug problem for which it blames foreign smugglers.