US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he directed the airstrike "under the orders of President Donald Trump".
He also posted a video on social media showing a boat being attacked while moving at high speed and quickly being engulfed in flames.
According to Minister Hegseth, the attacked boat was moving in international waters "outside of Venezuela" and was carrying "a large quantity" of drugs.
He did not identify any drugs on the boat nor published evidence of the crew's involvement in illegal drug trafficking in addition to the information that the US intelligence community had identified these suspects.
Since the beginning of September, when the Trump administration began a military campaign against drug trafficking suspects, US officials said 21 people had died on at least four boat-like boats in the airstrike on October 3.
The Trump administration said three of the airstrikes were carried out in the campaign departing from Venezuela.
Venezuela has not immediately responded to US Secretary of Defense Hegseth's announcement regarding the airstrike on October 3.
