The United States military on Friday struck another boat it suspected of smuggling drugs, killing two people, according to the U.S. Southern Command, in its first known boat strike in the eastern Pacific since the capture of Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela.
The U.S. Southern Command, which shared a video of the strike on social media, said the attack targeted a boat sailing along “known narco-trafficking routes” and that there had been one survivor. It said it had asked the U.S. Coast Guard to start a search-and-rescue mission for the survivor.
This latest attack brings the known death toll in the Trump administration’s campaign that claims to be targeting drug smugglers to 125 since early September.
It was the 36th known strike by the U.S. military since the administration’s campaign began in the Caribbean Sea. The last known strike was on Dec. 31 and killed five people on two boats, according to the Southern Command. A range of legal experts and members of Congress contend that the strikes are illegal extrajudicial killings and, potentially, war crimes.
The heightened military activity in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, including a partial oil blockade on Venezuela, came amid an intensified pressure campaign that was intended to remove Mr. Maduro from power. The U.S. military seized Mr. Maduro on Jan. 3 and took him to New York to face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy and other counts. He has pleaded not guilty.
The Trump administration has continued to pressure Venezuela. It is pressing its interim government to receive more deportation flights and remove Venezuelan migrants from the United States, portraying them as gang members sent by Mr. Maduro to destabilize the country.
Ashley Ahn covers breaking news for The Times from New York.
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