A United States (US) strike against an alleged drug vessel killed six suspected “narco-terrorists” in the Caribbean, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, the latest operation in President Donald Trump’s counter-drug campaign in the region.

In a post on X, Hegseth said this was the first strike carried out at night as part of the campaign which began in September.

The strike took place overnight and the vessel was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, he added.

Earlier this month, Russia on condemned a US strike on a vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs off the coast of Venezuela and cautioned about the dangers of potential US escalation in the entire Caribbean region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, spoke to his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, by telephone , the Russian foreign ministry said.

“Sergei Lavrov said that Russia strongly condemns the new strike by the US armed forces on October 3 on a ship in international waters near Venezuela,” the ministry said.