The United States military said late on Monday that it had carried out strikes on three alleged narco-trafficking boats in the eastern Pacific ocean, killing eight people.

"Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking," US Southern Command said in a statement on social media platform X.

"A total of eight male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions-three in the first vessel, two in the second and three in the third," it added.

The US military did not give any evidence for their drug trafficking allegations.

A video posted with the statement showed a boat moving through the sea waters before exploding.

Criticism mounts for Trump's counter-narcotics campaign

The US military strikes against alleged drug traffickers, which began in September, have killed at least 90 people so far and destroyed over 20 vessels.

President Donald Trump justifies the attacks as a necessary escalation to stymie the flow of drugs into the US.

Trump has asserted that his country is engaged in an "armed conflict" with drug cartels.

Monday's statement comes as the Trump administration faces intense scrutiny in the US Congress over its ongoing strike campaign on alleged drug cartel boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

Top officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are expected to provide closed-door briefings for lawmakers in the House and Senate.

On September 2, a "double tap strike" triggered accusations of a possible war crime.

The incident saw survivors of an initial boat attack, carried out by the US military, being killed in a second strike on the vessel.

Hegseth maintains he did not order a second strike.

The White House says the follow-up strike was ordered by a navy admiral.

Regional tensions

The Caribbean is also witnessing the largest US military buildup in decades.

The strikes have led to an increased friction between the US and Venezuela.

Washington claims that the drug smugglers have links to Venezuela's strongman President Nicolas Maduro.

Maduro denies the allegation and claims that the US is "fabricating a new war" to cause a regime change in the South American nation.

The strikes have been seen as the precursor to possible US land attacks, which Trump says are coming soon.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher