US forces have killed four people in a strike on a boat off Venezuela that was allegedly smuggling drugs.

The attack marks the fourth US military strike since September on boats in international waters that Washington says are involved in “narco-trafficking”, leaving 21 people dead in total.

Footage of the strike shows a boat skimming across the ocean waves before erupting in a cloud of black smoke, leaving behind a burning wreck.

“Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed in the strike,” Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, said. “Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route.”

He added that the “vessel was transporting substantial amounts of narcotics - headed to America to poison our people”.

“These strikes will continue until the attacks on the American people are over!!!!” he continued.

Donald Trump shared the footage on his Truth Social platform, claiming it was transporting “enough drugs to kill “25 To 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE”.

The strike comes after Mr Trump said that the US is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, in a memo to Congress.