United States forces have killed 14 people in strikes on four alleged drug boats in the Pacific, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth says.
He said one survivor was rescued by Mexican search and rescue personnel.
It is the latest in a series of attacks on boats the US says have been carrying drugs in both the Pacific and Caribbean.
The latest strikes in the eastern Pacific, which Hegseth said happened on Monday at the direction of President Donald Trump, mark an escalation in what it says is a campaign to target drug traffickers.
At least 51 people have now been killed in the strikes, which have led to an escalation of tensions between the US and the governments of both Colombia and Venezuela.
Most of the strikes have taken place off the coast of South America, in the Caribbean, but more recently, the US has carried out strikes in the Pacific Ocean as well.
The US strikes have drawn condemnation in the region, and experts have questioned their legality.
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In a statement on X, Hegseth said the four vessels hit on Monday “were known by our intelligence apparatus, transitioning along known narco-trafficking routes and carrying narcotics”.
Hegseth added that eight “narco-terrorists” were killed in the first strike. Four and another three were killed in the following two strikes.
One person survived the strikes. According to Hegseth, Mexican search-and-rescue authorities “accepted the case and assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue.”
The condition of the survivor or his current whereabouts remains unclear.
“The department has spent over two decades defending other homelands,” Hegseth wrote. “Now, we’re defending our own.”
