Washington, 23 December 2025 (dpa/MIA) - The US military said it carried out a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in international waters in the eastern Pacific on Monday, killing one man.

The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) said on the social media platform X that "the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."

"One male narco-terrorist was confirmed killed during this action," SOUTHCOM said.

SOUTHCOM said that the "lethal kinetic strike" was carried out at the direction of US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The military released a short video clip that it said showed the attack.

The footage appears to show the boat being hit by numerous rounds of fire, whereas in most earlier attacks of this kind the vessels appeared to have been struck by a missile.

Neither the military's account nor the authenticity of the video could initially be independently verified.

Since September, US forces have repeatedly targeted vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that they say are carrying drugs, citing intelligence assessments. The military has not publicly provided evidence to substantiate the claims.

US media counts suggest more than 100 people have been killed in the operations so far. The US administration has described those killed as drug traffickers and "terrorists," but the strikes have drawn sharp criticism.

UN human rights experts have said the operations may violate international law, describing the killings as unlawful extrajudicial killings.

Photo: X