Two killed in US strike on 'narco-terrorists'

US forces say they have struck what they called "narco-terrorists" on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific on Thursday, killing two people.

"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations," US Southern Command announced on social media. "Two narco-terrorists were killed during this action.

No US military forces were harmed," added the statement on X. Southern Command did not specify where the boat was coming from or where it was heading.

A video linked to the post shows a boat moving through the water before exploding in flames. The US military has conducted at least 36 attacks on boats allegedly transporting drugs since September in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

The Trump administration has argued the operations serve the national security purpose of stopping the flow of drugs into the US. The US military has put the total number killed at 128, including those presumed dead after being lost at sea.

The latest strike is only the second since the US captured Nicolas Maduro, then the president of Venezuela, in a military operation on 3 January and brought him to New York for trial. Read more from Sky News:Iran and US begin high-stakes talksSon has nightmares after ICE arrestUK agents help seize 'narco sub' Maduro has pleaded not guilty to charges which include narco-terrorism conspiracy and cocaine importation conspiracy.

The latest strike is also the first since Donald Trump's meeting this week with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who has repeatedly criticised the boat attacks, comparing them to war crimes. Colombian citizens have been injured or killed in the previous strikes.

Mr Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he and President Petro - whom he had previously called a "drug leader" - discussed counternarcotics efforts. Last October, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said: "Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans." "President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish," Mr Bessent added.

Mr Petro disputes the basis for the US allegations, saying his government has seized cocaine at unprecedented rates and that expansion of coca crops - the base ingredient for cocaine - has slowed every year since 2021..