Washington DC - The US military said it killed two people in a strike on an alleged drug-trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, bringing the contentious campaign's death toll to at least 170.

US Southern Command, which is responsible for Washington's forces in the region, said in a post on X that "the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations."

President Donald Trump's administration insists it is effectively at war with what it calls "narco-terrorists" operating in Latin America.

But it has provided no definitive evidence that the vessels it targets are involved in drug trafficking, prompting questions about the legality of the operations.

International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to illegal extrajudicial killings, as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the US.

In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boasted that the US was struggling to find more boats to attack as he continues to push a violent military agenda that vows "maximum lethality, not tepid legality."