The U.S. military executed another strike on a vessel accused of drug smuggling in the eastern Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. This marks the fourth such action in a week, leading to a total death toll of 205.

The U.S. Southern Command announced this operation, using standard language to describe the vessel’s involvement in narco-trafficking and its operation by a recognized terrorist group. However, no evidence was provided to substantiate these claims.

This strike is part of a prolonged offensive against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific. A video shared by the military on social media displays a small boat on the ocean, which is struck and then consumed in flames.

The recent death toll increase is partly due to initial reports of strike survivors who have not been subsequently located. Since early September, the U.S. strikes have consistently been reported, with additional actions noted on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday.

The Trump administration has characterized the fight against Latin American drug cartels as an armed conflict. They attribute these cartels to the infiltration of drugs into U.S. communities. U.S. Southern Command’s post on X indicated that the direction for the strike came from Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the leading U.S. commander in Latin America. On the preceding Friday, Donovan engaged in discussions with Cuban military leaders near Guantanamo Bay’s U.S. Navy base.

Experts have scrutinized the legality of these boat strikes. The White House confirmed a follow-up action in the first attack on September 2, referred to as a double tap, which resulted in the deaths of two initial strike survivors. Some lawmakers have questioned whether this follow-on strike could be deemed a war crime.

As of now, there are records of only three individuals surviving these strikes and being rescued. Two were rescued from a suspected drug-carrying ‘narco-sub’ in October and subsequently returned to Ecuador and Colombia.

In March, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued another survivor from a strike that killed two others, later transferring the individual to Costa Rican authorities.

Earlier this year, families of two Trinidadian men killed in a U.S. missile strike on a boat in the Caribbean filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. They contested the killings as premeditated and intentional, lacking any legal justification.