The United States military has conducted another strike on an alleged drug trafficking vessel in the Caribbean, killing four people, according to US Southern Command.

US Southern Command announced late Sunday that it struck alleged drug traffickers operating along what it described as "established narco-trafficking routes" in the eastern Pacific and Caribbean.

The latest attack brings the total death toll from US military maritime strikes to at least 235 people across 70 operations, since the Trump administration launched its counter-narcoterrorism campaign, known as Operation Southern Spear, in September of last year.

President Donald Trump has characterised the campaign against cartels in Latin America as an active "armed conflict," defending the strikes as a necessary escalation to curb illicit drug trafficking and reduce fatal overdoses in the United States.

The US military released footage on social media showing the explosion that destroyed the moving vessel, but has offered no evidence that the targeted boat was carrying drugs.

United Nations experts have warned that the strikes violate international law and could amount to crimes against humanity.

The Trump administration has been actively pursuing regional security agreements across Latin America to expand joint military operations against groups it has designated as criminal cartels. These agreements fall under the US-led Shield of the Americas coalition, launched in March.

Trump has pledged the initiative will use "unmatched military might" to dismantle drug cartels while simultaneously countering Chinese economic influence in the Western Hemisphere.

During a visit to Panama in August, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras had agreed to joint counter-crime military operations on their soil. Guatemala subsequently disputed the statement, issuing a clarification regarding its sovereignty and the boundaries of its participation within the 19-member alliance.