Washington DC - A US strike on a vessel in the Caribbean killed three people on Saturday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said, the latest such attack in international waters.

The US has deployed Navy ships to the Caribbean and sent F-35 stealth warplanes to Puerto Rico, part of a massive military force that Washington insists is aimed at curbing drug trafficking.

More than 15 US strikes on boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific have killed at least 65 people in recent weeks, prompting criticism from governments in the region.

The latest strike hit "another narco-trafficking vessel... in the Caribbean," Hegseth wrote on social media.

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"This vessel – like EVERY OTHER – was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling," he said.

"Three male narco-terrorists were aboard the vessel during the strike, which was conducted in international waters. All three terrorists were killed."

Experts say the attacks, which began in early September, amount to extrajudicial killings even if they target known traffickers, and Washington has yet to make public any evidence that its targets were smuggling narcotics or posed a threat to the US.

Hegseth said Washington would continue to "hunt... and kill" alleged drug traffickers.

He shared video footage of the strike, showing the moment the vessel is hit, followed by a fireball.

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Like previous videos released by the US government, areas on the boat are obfuscated, rendering it impossible to verify how many people were on board.

On Friday, the United Nations urged Washington to halt its strikes.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said these people had been killed "in circumstances that find no justification in international law."

"These attacks – and their mounting human cost – are unacceptable," he said in a statement.

Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro has accused Washington of using drug trafficking as a pretext for "imposing regime change" in Caracas to seize Venezuelan oil.

But President Donald Trump has said he was not considering strikes against Venezuela, dialing back previous posturing.

Maduro insists there is no drug cultivation in Venezuela, which he says is used as a trafficking route for Colombian cocaine against its will.

The Trump administration has said in a notice to Congress that the US is engaged in "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels, describing them as terrorist groups as part of its justification for the strikes.