Four killed in a new US attack on a suspected drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean

The Armed Forces killed four people during an attack on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, the U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported on Saturday.

The operation was carried out on Saturday by the Western Hemisphere Joint Task Force against a speedboat traveling along routes used by drug trafficking organizations.

"Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in drug trafficking. The operation resulted in the deaths of four narco-terrorists," SOUTHCOM stated in a press release accompanied by a low-resolution video of the attack.

The operation is part of Southern Spear, the military campaign launched by the Trump administration against drug trafficking networks operating out of Latin America. The president has advocated for a more forceful response and has argued that the United States is, in effect, at war with the cartels that bring drugs and violence into U.S. territory.