The U.S. military killed five people Tuesday in a strike on a go-fast vessel it described as actively involved in drug trafficking in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

U.S. Southern Command announced the operation, stating that Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere executed a lethal kinetic strike on the vessel along established narco-trafficking routes. Confirmed intelligence indicated the boat's involvement in narcotrafficking, and the strike killed five narco-terrorists, according to the command's statement.

This marks the latest in a series of strikes that began in September 2025 under the Trump administration. The campaign has now resulted in at least 243 deaths across more than 70 reported operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, based on trackers from groups monitoring the operations.

President Trump has described the effort as part of an armed conflict with drug cartels, aimed at disrupting the flow of narcotics into the United States and reducing overdose deaths among Americans. The administration has pointed to the vessels operating on known smuggling routes as targets.

SOUTHCOM has released videos in connection with several strikes showing vessels being hit. The military has not provided detailed public evidence or identities of those killed in this or most prior incidents.

Critics, including human rights organizations, have raised concerns about the strikes' legality and the lack of independent verification that all targeted individuals were involved in trafficking. Some relatives of victims in earlier strikes have claimed the deceased were fishermen or others not connected to drug operations.

The Tuesday strike brings the reported total higher in an ongoing effort that has seen dozens of similar actions. The administration continues to frame the operations as necessary measures against cartels responsible for significant drug flows into the country.