US forces have carried out another deadly strike on a suspected drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean, killing three people, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth confirmed on Thursday, bringing the death toll from Washington’s controversial anti-narcotics campaign to at least 70.

Hegseth shared aerial footage on X of the latest attack, which he said took place in international waters and targeted “a vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.”

The video showed a boat speeding through the sea before erupting into flames. “Three male narco-terrorists, who were aboard the vessel, were killed,” Hegseth said, without providing further details about their identities.

To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” the Pentagon chief warned.

Like some earlier videos released by Washington, part of the footage was blurred for undisclosed reasons.

The United States began launching such strikes in early September in what it calls a campaign against maritime drug smuggling in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.

According to official figures, the operations have destroyed at least 18 vessels — 17 boats and a semi-submersible — though Washington has yet to publicly present concrete evidence that the targeted vessels were carrying narcotics or posed a direct threat to the US.

President Donald Trump’s administration has ramped up military operations in Latin America as part of what it describes as a zero-tolerance approach to drug trafficking.