President Donald Trump says the US military has carried out its third fatal strike this month on a vessel allegedly carrying drugs.
In a post on Truth Social on Friday, local time, Mr Trump said the Pentagon had ordered the strike on the vessel, which was in the US Southern Command's area of responsibility.
He said "three male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel" were killed in the strike.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans," he said.
Mr Trump's post included a 40-second video which appeared to show a vessel steering through a body of water before exploding into flames.
The president did not specify where the vessel departed from or exactly where the strike took place.
US Southern Command is the US military's combatant command that encompasses 31 countries through South and Central America and the Caribbean.
Third strike on suspected drug boat in recent weeks
This is the third such strike carried out against a suspected drugs boat in recent weeks.
On September 15, Mr Trump announced the American military had struck a Venezuelan drug cartel vessel in international waters on its way to the US, killing three men.
At the time, the US president provided no evidence for his claim the boat was carrying drugs, but later said the US had "proof".
"All you have to do is look at the cargo that was … spattered all over the ocean, big bags of cocaine and fentanyl," he told reporters.
Weeks earlier, on September 2, Mr Trump announced 11 alleged "narcoterrorists" had been killed in a military strike on a Venezuelan vessel he said was carrying illegal drugs.
The Trump administration has since provided scant information about this strike, despite demands from US politicians that the government justify its actions.
The Pentagon has not publicly said what type of drugs the boat in the first strike was carrying or how much, or even what type of weapons were used to carry out the strike.
It has alleged those on the vessel were members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, however the Venezuelan government has denied this.
President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly alleged the US is hoping to drive him from power.
Washington last month doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr Maduro to $US50 million ($75 million), accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups, which he denies.
The latest strike comes amid a large US military build-up in the southern Caribbean.
Five US F-35 aircraft were seen landing in Puerto Rico on Saturday after the Trump administration ordered 10 of the stealth fighters to join the build-up.
There are also at least seven US warships in the region, along with one nuclear-powered submarine.
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