The United States began carrying out such strikes -- which experts say amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers -- in early September, and has now killed at least 67 people in the Caribbean and Pacific.

"Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics. The strike was conducted in international waters in the Eastern Pacific," Hegseth said in a post on X that included a video of a boat being engulfed in flames.

"We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority," he added.

The US strikes have destroyed at least 17 vessels so far -- 16 boats and a semi-submersible -- but Washington has yet to make public any evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the United States.

The victims' governments and families have said many of those killed were civilians -- many of them fishermen.

The announced drug interdiction operation has seen a major US military buildup around Latin America.

- 'Seek dialogue' -

The US has deployed multiple warships as well as F-35 stealth warplanes, and ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier strike group to the region.

Regional tensions have flared as a result of the strikes and the military buildup, with Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro -- who faces indictment on drug charges in the United States -- accusing Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext for "imposing regime change" in Caracas to seize Venezuelan oil.

Maduro insists there is no drug cultivation in Venezuela, which he says is used as a trafficking route for Colombian cocaine against its will.

The Trump administration has said in a notice to Congress that the United States is engaged in "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of its justification for the strikes.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Tuesday he hopes there will be no US ground incursion into Venezuela, reiterating his willingness to mediate between the two nations.

And Pope Leo XIV criticized the US military deployment in the Caribbean, saying in response to a question from a journalist that a country had the right to have its military "defend peace."

"In this case, however, it seems a bit different. It increases tension," said the 70-year-old pope. "I think that with violence we don't win. The thing to do is to seek dialogue."