Since operations targeting suspected drug traffickers began over the summer, over 30 people have been reportedly killed.

Hegseth said Friday that the U.S. struck a boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean Sea, marking at least the third time this week that the U.S. has attacked a vessel it says was involved in drug trafficking.

Three people were killed and no US forces were harmed in the strike on Wednesday, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said. It comes a day after the US struck another boat in the Pacific, killing two people. Both vessels were believed to be carrying drugs along known trafficking routes in international waters, Hegseth added.