JAKARTA - A series of US attacks on ships suspected of being drug dealers in the eastern Pacific killed 14 suspected drug dealers and left one survivor.
The attack in the Pacific comes amid increasing US military power in the Caribbean which includes guided-missile destroyers, F-35 fighter jets, nuclear submarines, and thousands of troops.
The US government ordered Ford carrier task force to the region, and is expected to reach the Caribbean in the coming weeks.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Mexican authorities were taking over search and rescue operations for the only survivors of the three attacks on Monday.
"The four ships were recognized by our intelligence forces, crossed the known narcotics trade route, and carried narcotics," Hegseth said, without providing evidence.
However, Hegseth uploaded a 30-second video, which appeared to show two ships adjacent to the water before it exploded.
Another part of the video shows the ship moving in the water before it explodes.
The attack follows at least 10 other attacks in the Caribbean and the Pacific since early September, in operations that have escalated US tensions with Venezuela and Colombia.
Trump has also authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
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The Pentagon provided little information about the attack, including the number of drugs allegedly carried by the ships and the identities of those killed.
The attack has raised concerns among some Democratic lawmakers, questioning whether they comply with war laws.
Legal experts question why the US military carried out the attack, instead of the Coast Guard, which is the US's main maritime law enforcement agency, and why other attempts to stop shipments were not made before using the deadly attack.
Reuters previously reported two suspected drug dealers survived a US military offensive in the Caribbean earlier this month.
They were rescued and taken to the US Navy warships before being returned to Colombia and Ecuador.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly accused the US of hoping to overthrow him from power.
In August, Washington doubled its rewards for information leading to Maduro's arrest to $50 million, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups Maduro denies.
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