A timeline of US military strikes on boats off South America and what Congress said

WASHINGTON (AP) — In less than two months, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the U.S. military has killed at least 37 people in nine strikes against drug-smuggling ships in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific.

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 September 11 attacks.

Read more: Validating Trump’s claim that every boat that hits the coast of Venezuela saves 25,000 lives

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 the Tren de Aragua and organizing 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.

Read more: Why does the United States deploy warships in South America? 4 things to know

A Navy submarine also operates off South America and is capable of carrying and launching cruise missiles.

The U.S. Navy warship USS Lake Erie (CG 70) arrived Thursday at Balboa Harbor in Panama City. The US sent three warships to the region amid escalating tensions with Venezuela, which deployed warships and drones to patrol the country’s coast on August 26, 2025. Photograph by Martin Peretti/AFP via Getty Images

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.

“And how were they identified as members of the Tren de Aragua? Did they have, I don’t know, a chip? Did they have a QR code and they (the US military) read it from above in the dark?” Capello said. “They publicly admitted to killing 11 people.”

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.”

A photo collage shows screenshots from a video posted to the White House’s Photo courtesy of the White House/Handout via Reuters

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.”

He watches: Venezuela tells the UN General Assembly that the US military in the Caribbean poses an “unlawful” threat.

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.

Read more: Trump declares that the United States is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels

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 down legislation that would have required the president to get authorization from Congress before launching further military strikes on gangs.

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.

He watches: Trump is considering launching ground strikes in Venezuela after attacks on suspected drug boats

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 ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called 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 criticized the “covert measures and threats” used by the United States against Venezuela, saying the attacks are occurring 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

US Army Hegseth says I fired her The eighth strike against a ship allegedly carrying drugsKilling two people in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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.