The U.S. military carried out a lethal strike on a vessel in the Caribbean on Saturday, killing four people it described as suspected “narco-terrorists.”

News reports out of the northern nation said a statement from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) reported the operation occurring on September 19 under the direction of the command’s Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere. 

The target was described as a “go-fast vessel” operating along established drug-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.

“Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel's active involvement in narco-trafficking,” Fox News quoted the statement as saying.

The strike forms part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration targeting suspected cartel-linked trafficking networks. 

SOUTHCOM has carried out dozens of operations against vessels in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that the military says are connected to drug trafficking.

A September 9 strike reportedly resulted in three deaths.

Fox News reported that Saturday’s operation brings the number of people killed in the administration’s campaign to at least 231, across at least 69 reported strikes over approximately one year.

It said SOUTHCOM also released video footage of the latest operation, adding that in recent weeks, the military has released additional footage showing U.S. personnel intercepting and boarding vessels suspected of involvement in drug trafficking. In some cases, crews were removed before the vessels were sunk.

It was reported that several of the operations highlighted by SOUTHCOM have involved vessels allegedly linked to Los Choneros, an Ecuadorian criminal organisation that the U.S. military has described as a violent “narco-terrorist” group.