Anti-drug operation in the Pacific leaves three dead

The U.S. military carried out a lethal attack on a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Saturday in which three men were killed, officials said.

The latest attack brings to more than 200 the total killed, according to an AFP count, since President Donald Trump's administration began its offensive last September.

In a post on X, U.S. Southern Command said "the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."

"Three male narco-terrorists were killed during this action," it added.

Black and white images accompanying the release showed the vessel in the open sea before it became engulfed in a large explosion.

The U.S. military launched Operation Southern Spear in early September, as Trump insisted that Washington is, in practice, at war with drug cartels operating in Latin America.