Washington: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday announced that the American military carried out three strikes in the Eastern Pacific on Monday against boats suspected of trafficking drugs, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.

In a post on social media, Hegseth said the operation marked an escalation in the pace of maritime strikes that began in early September and were initially conducted weeks apart. This was the first instance of multiple strikes being launched on the same day.

He added that Mexican search and rescue authorities had taken charge of rescuing the lone survivor, but did not specify whether the individual would remain in Mexican custody or be transferred to the United States.

Earlier in October, during a separate incident that left two survivors, the US military rescued those individuals and later repatriated them to Colombia and Ecuador.

With inputs from PTI