The killings mark the third attack in May alone by the US military in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

The United States military has killed two “narco-terrorists”, leaving one survivor, in its latest attack on vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) announced the attack in a statement on Friday, accompanied by a video that showed a moving boat being struck by a missile and then bursting into a ball of flames.

SOUTHCOM oversees the US military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America. It said the vessel was operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” but provided no evidence in support of this claim.

“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” it said in the statement.

It said no military forces were harmed in the operation.

This is the third attack in May. It comes a few days after the US military reported killing three people in a similar attack. 

Since the US began its operation in September targeting what the US claims are narco-traffickers, it has killed more than 170 people, although estimates vary.

Rights groups and international legal experts have described these attacks as extrajudicial killings. Many have called for the US to be held accountable.

Experts say even if the people on the boat were involved in drug trafficking, they should face the law, rather than face fatal attacks.

Families in Colombia and Trinidad and Tobago have spoken out after past attacks, insisting those targeted were not “narco-terrorists” as the Trump administration has claimed, but fishermen and informal workers making routine journeys between the Caribbean and South America.