The U.S. struck a vessel in the Eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing six people, the U.S. Southern Command said.
The kinetic strike was ordered by Gen. Francis L. Donovan and targeted a boat operated by "Designated Terrorist Organizations," SOUTHCOMsaid on X.
"Six male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed," the post added.
The post said the vessel was "engaged in narco-trafficking operations" and "transiting along known narco-trafficking routes." No additional evidence of the claims was provided.
The U.S. has conducted more than 40 strikes in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific since September, killing more than 140 people.
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Thelatest such strikehappened on Feb. 23 and killed three people.
The Trump administration has argued that the strikes are in the national security interest of the country, preventing illicit drugs from entering the U.S. But the attacks have garnered criticism from lawmakers and advocacy groups, who have scrutinized the legal justification for them.
Sunday's strike comes only days after the most recent visit of a cabinet-level secretary to Venezuela, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum meeting with acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez.
President Donald Trump on Saturday officially recognized Rodríguez as Venezuela's president and said the U.S. "formally recognized" the country's new government following Nicolás Maduro's ouster.
"I'm pleased to say that this week, we have formally recognized the Venezuelan government. We've actually legally recognized them," Trump said while speaking at the Shield of the Americas Summit in Miami. "We have also just reached a historic gold deal. It's called the gold deal with Venezuela to allow our two countries to work together to facilitate the sale of Venezuelan gold and other minerals."
Trump convened the summit to bring together the leaders of several"likeminded"Latin American countries to promote anti-drug trade strategies.