India, Nov. 5 -- The United States conducted a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific Ocean Tuesday, killing two people, defense secretary Pete Hegseth said.

The fresh strike, reportedly 16th in the series of Trump administration's crackdown in South American waters, has taken the death toll in the campaign to at least 66, according to figures mentioned in an AP news agency report.

Hegseth, in a post on social media platform X, shared a video of a boat being engulfed in flames after the strike. He said that intelligence had confirmed that the vessel was "involved in illicit narcotics smuggling" and "transiting along a known narco-trafficking route.carrying narcotics."

Hegseth further said that the Donald Trump-...