U.S. says it has destroyed another alleged drug ship in Pacific, killing all on board

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that the country's military carried out another strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing all four people aboard.

The strike came a day after Hegseth said the U.S. carried out three strikes in the same region Monday, killing 14 people, as the Trump administration pursues its divisive campaign against drug cartels in the waters off South America.

Hegseth, who has been travelling in Japan and Malaysia, said in a social media post that intelligence determined the craft was "transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics." He said the strike was conducted in international waters and no U.S. forces were harmed.

A video posted by Hegseth shows a boat exploding into flames and smoke.

WATCH | Colombia accuses U.S. of murder over strike on small boat:

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is ending aid to Colombia after the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, accused the U.S. of ‘murder’ when it struck a small boat within Colombian territorial waters in September. The U.S. alleges the boat was a drug vessel, but Petro said the fisherman killed onboard had no ties to the drug trade.

The Trump administration has been conducting a nearly two-month campaign in the region, while building up an unusually large force of warships carrying marines and aircraft. Their presence has fuelled speculation that the moves are aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who the U.S. has accused of narcoterrorism.

Experts have questioned the legality of the strikes, which have now killed at least 61 people.

U.S. President Donald Trump has justified the attacks on the boats as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States.

He has asserted the U.S. is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority used by the Bush administration when it declared a war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

But as the number of strikes has grown, a debate in Congress has escalated over the limits of the president's power. The attacks have occurred without any legal investigation or a traditional declaration of war from Congress, and some lawmakers, including fellow Republicans, have raised questions about the lack of hard evidence to justify the killings.

WATCH | Trump defends covert operations in Venezuela:

U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, escalating efforts to pressure President Nicolas Maduro's government. Trump said he authorized the action because large amounts of drugs were entering the United States from Venezuela, much of it by sea. Venezuela's Foreign Ministry condemned the move in a statement, saying the action 'constitutes a very serious violation of international law and the United Nations’ Charter.'

The Trump administration has shown no evidence to support its claims about the boats that have been attacked, their connection to drug cartels, or even the identity of the people killed in the strikes.

The strike announced by Hegseth on Wednesday is the 14th since the campaign began.