The U.S. military conducted a strike Saturday on a boat it alleged was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing three people in the fourth such attack this week, according to U.S. Southern Command.

The command announced the strike using standard language stating the vessel was "engaged in narco-trafficking operations" and operated by a designated terrorist organization, though it provided no evidence for these allegations. Military video released on social media showed a small vessel in the ocean before being struck and engulfed in flames.

Saturday's attack brings the total death toll to 205 people in a series of U.S. strikes that began in early September. Other attacks were announced on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday of this week as part of what the military describes as a monthslong campaign against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

The strikes are part of the Trump administration's declared armed conflict with Latin American drug cartels, which officials say are responsible for the flow of drugs into American communities. U.S. Southern Command said Saturday's strike was carried out at the direction of Gen. Francis L. Donovan, the top U.S. commander for Latin America.

The escalating pace of strikes represents an intensification of military operations against suspected narcotics trafficking in the region, with four attacks conducted in a single week resulting in multiple casualties.