VIDEO | US strikes more narco boats in Pacific, killing six

The United States struck two drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Sunday, killing six people on board, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday.

"These vessels were known by our intelligence to be associated with illicit narcotics smuggling, were carrying narcotics, and were transiting along a known narco-trafficking transit route," Hegseth said in a post on social media, which included a video of the boats being struck.

The US has carried out more than a dozen strikes since September on vessels near the Venezuelan coast and, more recently, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing more than 70 people, according to the US defense secretary, as it escalates a military buildup in the Caribbean Sea.

Venezuela's illegitimate president Nicolas Maduro has accused Donald Trump of seeking to topple his government, an allegation the US president has downplayed despite reports of the administration's close contact with Venezuela's opposition.

In September, the US built up its military presence in the Caribbean - including a nuclear submarine and a group of warships accompanying the world's largest aircraft carrier - prompting Maduro to shore up security powers and deploy tens of thousands of troops around the country.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson; Editing by Doina Chiacu)