Washington DC - The US military said on Thursday it killed two alleged drug traffickers in a strike on a boat in the eastern Pacific, bringing the death toll from Washington's campaign to at least 128.

President Donald Trump's administration began targeting alleged smuggling boats in early September, insisting it is effectively at war with alleged "narco-terrorists" operating out of Venezuela.

However, administration officials have provided no definitive evidence that the vessels are involved in drug trafficking, prompting heated debate about the legality of the operations that have expanded from the Caribbean to the Pacific.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," the US Southern Command said in a post on X on Thursday.

"No U.S. military forces were harmed" in the operation, the post added.

It was the second reported US strike on an alleged drug boat in the region since the January 3 capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who had said the US campaign of strikes was aimed at regime change in the South American country.