The United States carried out a strike against a vessel in the eastern Pacific on Sunday, killing six people, according to the United States Southern Command.

Officials said the operation was authorized by SOUTHCOM commander Francis L. Donovan, a Marine Corps general. In a statement posted on X, the command said the targeted boat was being operated by individuals linked to what it described as “designated terrorist organizations.”

“Six male narco-terrorists were killed during this action. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” the statement said.

According to SOUTHCOM, the vessel was suspected of conducting narcotics trafficking and was traveling along routes commonly used by drug smuggling operations. The command did not release additional evidence supporting those claims.

The strike is part of a broader campaign targeting maritime drug trafficking. Since September, the United States has carried out more than 40 similar strikes across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, operations that officials say have resulted in the deaths of more than 140 people.

The most recent strike before Sunday’s occurred on Feb. 23 and killed three people.

The Trump administration has defended the operations as necessary to protect national security by disrupting drug shipments bound for the United States.

However, the campaign has drawn criticism from some lawmakers and advocacy organizations, who have questioned the legal basis for the strikes and raised concerns about the use of military force in anti-drug operations.