WASHINGTON, United States, March 9, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - A US strike on a boat "engaged in narco-trafficking operations" in the eastern Pacific Ocean killed six men Sunday, the US military said.

It was the latest of dozens of strikes on boats that Washington claims are operated by drug traffickers, without providing evidence. More than 150 people have been killed in the US operations, which began in September.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," General Francis Donovan, commander of US Southern Command, posted on X.

The attacks have drawn criticism that they amount to extrajudicial killings. Some of those killed were fishermen, according to their families and governments.

President Donald Trump's administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America.

On Thursday, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the campaign to hunt down boats allegedly bringing drugs from South America had been so successful that it was now hard to find targets.