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US defense secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the US military carried out another strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean. According to Hegseth, the boat was carrying drugs, and all four people on board were killed. The action is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign against drug cartels operating in waters near South America.Hegseth, who is currently visiting Japan and Malaysia, posted on social media that intelligence showed the boat was “transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics.” He said the strike took place in international waters and that no US personnel were injured. Hegseth also shared a video that shows a boat exploding. This was the 14th strike since the campaign began in early September. The total number of people killed in these operations has reached at least 61, news agency Associated Press reported.The Trump administration has deployed a large number of US Navy ships, including vessels carrying Marines and aircraft, to the region. The scale of the deployment has led to speculation that the US may be preparing actions aimed at Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, whom the US has accused of narcoterrorism. American President Donald Trump has said the attacks on suspected drug boats are necessary to stop the flow of illegal drugs into the US. He has said the US is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, citing the same legal authority that allowed the George W Bush administration to launch military action after the September 11 attacks.As the number of strikes increases, members of Congress have raised concerns about presidential authority. The operations have been conducted without a formal declaration of war or legal review. Some lawmakers have questioned the lack of evidence to justify the use of lethal force.So far, the administration has not provided proof to support its assertions about the boats, their links to drug cartels, or the identity of the people killed.