The U.S. military said Friday it conducted another lethal strike on a vessel suspected of drug trafficking in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, marking the latest in a series of operations targeting maritime smuggling routes.

U.S. Southern Command said in a social media post that the boat was “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes” and was engaged in drug-trafficking activity at the time of the strike. The command said three people were killed. Video released alongside the statement shows a vessel at sea before it erupts in flames.

The latest operation brings the total number of reported deaths from U.S. strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels to at least 148 people across 43 attacks carried out since early September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.

President Donald Trump has described the campaign as part of an “armed conflict” with Latin American cartels, arguing that the strikes are necessary to curb the flow of narcotics into the United States. Administration officials have characterized those targeted as “narcoterrorists,” though critics say the government has released limited public evidence supporting those claims.

The operations have drawn scrutiny from legal experts and some lawmakers, who have questioned both the legality and the strategic effectiveness of the maritime strikes. Analysts note that much of the fentanyl linked to U.S. overdose deaths is trafficked over land from Mexico, where it is manufactured using precursor chemicals sourced primarily from China and India.

The strikes have faced additional criticism after it emerged that survivors of the first maritime attack were killed in a subsequent strike. Administration officials and many Republican lawmakers have defended the actions as lawful and necessary, while Democratic lawmakers and some legal scholars have argued the follow-up strike may constitute unlawful killings.

The campaign continues amid ongoing debate over its legal basis and its broader impact on drug trafficking networks.