The US Southern Command said that no US military forces were harmed. It described those killed as "male narco-terrorists," without offering details.
This is the latest such attack condemned by rights groups as "extrajudicial killings" and which the Trump administration says are aimed at "narco-terrorists."
"Two male narco-terrorists were killed during this action, and there were six male survivors. Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors," the post said.
The latest attack brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes by the US military to at least 213 since the Trump administration began targeting "narco-terrorists" in September.
As with most of the military's statements on strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, US Southern Command said it targeted the alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes.
The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. A video posted on X showed a boat speeding through the water before being struck and bursting into flames.
President Donald Trump has said the US is in "armed conflict" with cartels in Latin America and has justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and fatal overdoses claiming American lives.
Critics have questioned the overall legality of the boat strikes as well as their effectiveness, in part because the fentanyl behind many fatal overdoses is typically trafficked to the US over land from Mexico, where it is produced with chemicals imported from China and India.
