A U.S. military operation intensifying efforts to curb drug trafficking in the Caribbean Sea has carried out another deadly strike on a suspected smuggling vessel. Authorities said on Friday that at least three people were killed in the action.

According to information released on social media by United States Southern Command, the boat was traveling along a well-known drug trafficking route in the Caribbean and was believed to be involved in a smuggling operation. Video linked to the strike shows the vessel speeding across the surface of the sea before an explosion and flames erupt.

With Friday’s incident, the number of people killed in at least 38 similar strikes conducted in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since the beginning of September has reached 133, officials said. These operations have been targeting suspected drug-running boats since the administration of Donald Trump.

Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that several major trafficking groups operating in the Caribbean had decided to suspend their activities temporarily because of recent strong and effective U.S. military actions. However, he did not release concrete details or evidence to substantiate the claim.

Meanwhile, President Trump has described the United States as being in an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels, arguing that such strikes are necessary to halt the flow of narcotics. The administration, however, has not made public sufficient proof to back assertions that those killed were “narco-terrorists.”

The expanding military campaign against drugs in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific has fueled growing debate over regional security, with increasing questions being raised about human rights and international legal obligations.