THE US military said on Monday that it had carried out another strike on a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.

The attack, announced by US Southern Command on social media, brings the total number of known boat strikes to 30 and the death toll to at least 107 since early September, according to figures released by the Trump administration.

The military said that the vessel “was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” but provided no evidence to support the claim.

Footage posted online showed a small boat travelling through open water before being hit by two explosions.

President Donald Trump has defended the campaign as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States, repeatedly claiming the country is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

Alongside the strikes, Washington has increased its military presence in the region as part of an intensifying campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is accused of narcoterrorism in the US.

Asked by reporters about “an explosion in Venezuela,” Mr Trump said that US forces had struck a dock facility where boats accused of transporting drugs were loaded.

“There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs,” Mr Trump said during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida.

The incident marks the first known US land strike in Venezuela since the campaign began four months ago.

The White House and Pentagon offered no further details.

Mr Maduro has said the operations are aimed at removing him from power.

The campaign has drawn criticism, particularly after reports that an early September attack included a follow-up strike that killed two survivors clinging to wreckage.