The United States military said it had struck a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday, killing three people that it accused of smuggling drugs.

The U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, announced the strike on social media. It shared a 20-second video showing a boat engulfed with bright light as it moves through water. Seconds later, the boat appears to continue floating while aflame.

It was the third such strike in three days, and the 51st attack against boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific that the United States said were engaged in the narcotics trade. The attacks slowed in March but continued at an increased pace in the past week.

At least 177 people have been killed in the attacks, including the three men who died Wednesday. Many legal specialists have said that the attacks are illegal extrajudicial killings because the military is not permitted to target civilians who do not pose an imminent threat of violence.

The White House has said the killings are lawful. In a notice to Congress, the Trump administration said President Donald Trump had determined that the United States is in a formal armed conflict with drug cartels and that crews of drug-running boats are combatants.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Francesca Regalado/Eric Lee
c. 2026 The New York Times Company