Washington, Dec 17 (V7N) — The United States military has carried out another attack on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing at least four people, according to US officials.

On Wednesday, the US Southern Command (Southcom) released video footage of the operation, which was later reported by CNN. Washington claimed that the targeted vessel was involved in drug smuggling and was operating along a known drug-trafficking maritime route.

This latest strike comes just a day after US forces attacked three other vessels in the same region on Tuesday (December 16), incidents that reportedly left at least eight people dead.

Since September, the United States has intensified maritime operations in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, targeting suspected drug-smuggling networks. However, these actions have sparked legal and ethical concerns, with several international law experts describing the attacks as potentially illegal under international maritime law.

The US military has not yet released detailed information regarding the nationalities of the victims or whether attempts were made to intercept the vessels before the strikes.

END/SMA/AJ