Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed the strike in international waters on Wednesday, which was the first to occur on the Pacific Ocean off the West Coast of Central America, according to CBS News.
Seven prior strikes on alleged drug vessels were conducted in international waters in the Caribbean Sea.
The alleged drug vessel was manned by a "designated terrorist organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific," Hegseth said in a social media post.
Hegseth said U.S. intelligence determined the vessel was known to be used for narcotics smuggling and was traveling along a known narco-trafficking transit route while carrying narcotics.
The vessel was manned by two or three people, all of whom were killed by the airstrike, ABC News reported.
"Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere," Hegseth said in a social media post.
"Just as Al Qaeda waged war on our homeland, these cartels are waging war on our border and our people," he added. "There will be no refuge or forgiveness -- only justice."
Hegseth said no U.S. personnel were harmed, and President Donald Trump directed the military to conduct a lethal kinetic strike on the vessel.
Tuesday night's strike occurred as the U.S. Senate is considering a bipartisan measure that would prevent the Trump administration from waging a de facto war on Venezuela due to its claimed ties to drug trafficking.
The president has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of profiting from the illicit drug trade and authorized the CIA to operate in Venezuela.
The United States has issued a $50 million bounty for information leading to the arrest of Maduro.
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