Video posted on social media by US Southern Command shows a boat speeding through water before exploding into flames. Southern Command said it "immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors".
"Following the engagement, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified the US Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivors. No US military forces were harmed," the US Southern Command said on X.
The Trump administration's campaign of blowing up alleged drug-trafficking vessels in Latin American waters, including the eastern Pacific and the Caribbean Sea, has gone on since September and killed at least 194 people.
The military has not provided evidence that any of the vessels were carrying drugs.
The Pentagon watchdog said last week that it will evaluate whether the US military followed an established targeting framework when carrying out the attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats.
The six-phase Joint Targeting Cycle include a military commander's intent, target development, analysis, decision, execution and assessment.
The Pentagon inspector general's office said the review was "self-initiated".
It will not probe the legality of the strikes, which have drawn intense scrutiny from some Democratic lawmakers and military legal scholars.
The Trump administration says the US is at war against the Latin American drug cartels, which it says are responsible for the scourge of fatal drug overdoses plaguing many American communities.
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