The U.S. military on Friday said it carried out another lethal strike against a vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean suspected of involvement in narcotics trafficking, killing three men.
In a statement posted by U.S. Southern Command, officials said at the direction of the SOUTHCOM commander, Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted a "lethal kinetic strike" against a vessel operated by what it described as designated terrorist organizations.
U.S. officials said intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in drug-smuggling operations at the time of the strike.
Three male "narco-terrorists" were killed, according to the statement. No U.S. military personnel were harmed.
The operation is part of an ongoing U.S. counter-narcotics campaign targeting maritime trafficking routes in the Caribbean Sea and Eastern Pacific.
The military has said the strikes are aimed at disrupting cartel-linked smuggling networks moving drugs toward the United States.
According to prior War Department statements, more than 140 suspected traffickers have been killed to date in similar maritime strikes under the expanded campaign, which began last year.
The operations have sparked debate among some lawmakers and advocacy groups over the scope of U.S. military authority in international waters, though Pentagon officials maintain the strikes are lawful and based on vetted intelligence.
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