A timeline of US attacks off South America and what Congress said
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military has killed at least 61 people in 14 raids against drug-smuggling ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in less than two months.
Trump justified the attacks as a necessary escalation to stop the flow of drugs into the United States. He stressed that the United States is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, relying on the same legal authority that the Bush administration used when it declared war on terrorism after the attacks of September 11, 2001.
But as the number of strikes increased, debate escalated in Congress over the limits of the president’s power. The attacks occurred without any legal investigation or traditional declaration of war from Congress, and some lawmakers have raised questions about the lack of hard evidence to justify the killings.
Meanwhile, an unusual naval buildup off the coast of South America has raised fears of an invasion of Venezuela and speculation that Trump may try to oust President Nicolas Maduro, who faces drug-related terrorism charges in the United States.
Here is a timeline of US military operations and concerns among some lawmakers:
January 20
Trump signed an executive order on his first day in the White House paving the way for designating criminal organizations and drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations.” Among them is the Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang.
The US intelligence community has questioned Trump’s central claim that the Maduro administration is working with Tren de Aragua and coordinating drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the United States.
February 20
The Trump administration has officially designated eight Latin American criminal organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.
This classification is usually reserved for groups such as Al Qaeda or the Islamic State that use violence to achieve political goals – not for profit-focused crime gangs.
August 19
US officials confirm that the military has deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to waters off Venezuela as part of Trump’s efforts to combat threats from drug cartels in Latin America.
The naval force in the Caribbean grew within weeks to include three amphibious assault ships and two other US Navy ships, about 6,000 sailors and Marines in total. Amphibious assault ships carry a variety of aircraft on board, and the United States deployed F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September.
A Navy submarine also operates off South America and is capable of carrying and launching cruise missiles.
September 2
The United States carried out its first strike against what Trump says was a drug ship that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.
Trump says 11 people were killed and posted a short video of a small ship appearing to explode in flames. The video does not show any large or obvious drug caches inside the boat.
September 10
In a letter to the White House, Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia and two dozen other Democratic senators said the Trump administration had provided “no legitimate legal justification” for the strike.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a speech that week that the U.S. military was not “authorized to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.”
September 11
In Venezuela, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello accused the US government of committing murders, while questioning the extent to which the people on board the targeted ship were linked to the gang.
“How were they recognized as members of the Tren de Aragua?” Cabello asked. “Did they have, I don’t know, a chip? Did they have a QR code and (the US military) read it from above in the dark?” he asked. “They publicly admitted to killing 11 people,” Cabello said.
September 15
The US military carried out its second raid against an alleged drug boat, killing three people.
When asked what evidence the United States had that the ship was carrying drugs, Trump told reporters: “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was scattered all over the ocean – big bags of cocaine and fentanyl everywhere.” However, photos of what Trump described were not released by the military or the White House.
September 19
Trump says the US military carried out the third deadly strike against an alleged drug smuggling ship. The president said the attack killed three people and that intelligence “confirmed that the ship was trafficking illegal drugs.”
Many senators and human rights groups continue to question the legality of the strikes, describing them as a potential overreach of executive authority.
October 2
Trump declared the drug cartels illegal combatants and said the United States was now in “armed conflict” with them, according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The memo appears to represent an unusual assertion of presidential war powers, with Trump effectively declaring that drug trafficking into the United States rises to the level of an armed conflict requiring the use of military force.
The memo drew criticism from some lawmakers, including Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. He said that only Congress has the authority to declare war and called the memo “a way to pretend that the administration is notifying lawmakers of the justification for strikes.”
October 3
Hegseth says he ordered a fourth attack on a small boat he accuses of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela. He added that the raid killed four men, but did not provide details about their identity or the group to which they belonged.
Trump says in his social media post that the boat was “loaded with enough drugs to kill 25-50,000 people” and implied that it was “entering US territory” while off the coast of Venezuela.
October 8
Senate Republicans voted to reject legislation that would have required the president to obtain authorization from Congress before launching further military strikes on alleged cartels.
The vote was mostly along party lines, 48 to 51, with two Republicans, Paul and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting in favor of the resolution, while Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against it.
October 14
Trump announces the fifth strike against a small boat accused of carrying drugs, saying it led to the deaths of six people. The president says that “intelligence” confirmed that the ship was trafficking drugs linked to “narco-terrorist networks” and on a known drug smuggling route.
October 15
Trump has confirmed that he allowed the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and says he was considering carrying out ground operations in the country.
The president says the administration is “looking to the ground” as it considers more strikes in the region. He declines to say whether the CIA has the authority to take action against Maduro.
October 16
The naval admiral who oversees military operations in the region says he will retire in December.
Adm. Alvin Hulsey became commander of US Southern Command just last November, overseeing a region including the Caribbean Sea and the waters off South America. These types of posts typically last between three and four years.
October 16
Trump said the United States struck a sixth ship suspected of carrying drugs in the Caribbean, killing two people and leaving two survivors who were on board the semi-submersible vessel.
The president later said the survivors would be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their countries of origin, “for detention and trial.” Their repatriation avoided questions about their legal status in the American judicial system.
October 17
The US military attacked a seventh ship that Hegseth says was carrying “large quantities of drugs” and linked to a Colombian rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN. He added that the raid killed the three “terrorists” who were on board the plane.
When Hegseth announced the raid on October 19, he did not provide any evidence for his assertions, but he did share a short video of a boat on fire.
October 20
Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, calls for a hearing on the boat strikes.
“Never before in my more than 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave his post so early in the midst of such turmoil,” Smith said in a statement about Hulsey’s impending departure. “Never have I seen such a stunning lack of transparency on behalf of the administration and the department to meaningfully inform Congress about the use of lethal military force.”
October 21
A team of independent experts commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council has attacked the “covert measures and threats” used by the United States against Venezuela, saying the attacks are being carried out without a proper legal basis.
“These actions also violate basic international obligations not to interfere in internal affairs or threaten to use armed force against another country,” the experts said in a statement. He added, “These movements represent a very dangerous escalation that has serious implications for peace and security in the Caribbean region.”
The statement said that the experts conveyed their concerns to US officials.
October 21
Hegseth says the US military launched its eighth attack on a ship allegedly carrying drugs, killing two people in the eastern Pacific.
The attack, announced on social media the next day, marked an expansion of the military’s targeting area and a shift to waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.
October 22
Hegseth announced the ninth strike, and another in the eastern Pacific, saying three men had been killed. A video he posted on social media showed a boat moving, an explosion occurred, and then flames and smoke rose from the boat. The footage cuts to what looks like several packages floating on water.
October 24
Hegseth commanded America’s most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, heading to the waters off South America. This would be a major escalation of military firepower in the region as the Trump administration steps up strikes on ships that officials say are carrying drugs.
October 24
Hegseth says the army carried out a tenth strike on a boat suspected of drug smuggling, killing six people. Hegseth said on social media that the ship was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang, which originated in a Venezuelan prison.
“If you are a dope terrorist smuggling drugs in our Western Hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his post. “Day or night, we will map your networks, track your people, hunt you down, and kill you.”
October 28
Hegseth announced three strikes in the eastern Pacific that killed 14 and left one survivor. The triple attacks represented a continuing escalation in the pace of strikes, and marked the first time that multiple strikes had been announced in one day.
Hegseth said that Mexican search and rescue authorities “took responsibility for coordinating the rescue operation” of the sole survivor, but he did not say whether this person would remain in their custody or be extradited to the United States.
October 29
Hegseth says the US military carried out another strike on a boat it said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing all four people on board. He says that intelligence determined that the vehicle was “crossing along a known drug smuggling route, and carrying drugs.”
October 29
Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Trump administration briefed Republicans — but not Democrats — about the boat strikes.
The military briefing at the Capitol comes as the Senate faces a potential vote on a war powers resolution that would ban strikes in or near Venezuela, unless Congress approves military action.
