US Military Boat Strikes

U.S. Southern Command released aerial video showing the vessel being struck by a projectile and exploding in the open ocean.

This latest attack brings the death toll from the operation to 175 since it began in early September.

While the administration has touted the strikes as a major success in the war on drugs, human rights groups have raised concerns about the routine killing of people without trial.

The military maintains that the vessels were carrying large quantities of illicit substances and posed a direct threat to regional security.