Since September, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have ordered controversial military strikes against boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific.
The Trump administration has alleged with little evidence that the boats were smuggling drugs from Venezuela and Colombia. The campaign so far has killed more than 80 alleged drug runners, according to officials.
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attend a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, October 9, 2025.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters
Venezuelan and Colombian leaders have refuted the administration’s grounds for the attacks and slammed Trump for his military action.
On Capitol Hill, some leaders from both parties have questioned the legality of the strikes and whether the president has the constitutional power to authorize them.
Here is a timeline of the operation:
Sept. 2, 2025
Trump posts video on his social media platform of what he says is a strike on a boat carrying drugs to the U.S. The president says the 11 “Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists” aboard were killed and that they were operating under the control of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Maduro denies the allegations.
Sept. 15, 2025:
Trump announces a second strike reportedly kills three people in the Caribbean.
The president says in a social media post there were “3 male terrorists killed in action.”
President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth attend a roundtable with the Homeland Security Task Force in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, October 23, 2025.
Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock
When asked by reporters about the strike, Trump says the incident occurred in international waters and insisted “we have proof” that the boat was carrying drugs because of the cargo in the ocean.
“Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place,” he says.
Sept. 19, 2025:
Three people are killed in a third strike in the Caribbean.
Trump alleges they were working for an unspecified “designated terrorist organization.”
The president provides little detail about the operation but says intelligence indicated the vessel was trafficking drugs and was “transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans.”
Oct. 3, 2025:
The president reveals a fourth strike kills four people he alleges were “male narcoterrorists.”
Trump alleges the boat was “loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE.”
Colombian President Gustavo Petro posts on X that people on the boat were actually from Colombia.
An image from a video released by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, claims to show a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel just off the Coast of Venezuela, Oct. 14, 2025.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
Oct. 14, 2025:
The president uses his speech to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Navy to reveal a fifth strike that reportedly kills six men in the Caribbean.
Trump alleges intelligence showed the vessel was “trafficking narcotics” and “was associated with illicit narcoterrorist networks.”
Oct. 16, 2025:
A strike that hit a boat in the Caribbean had lingering effects after it was revealed there were survivors.
President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Oct. 16, 2025, in Washington.
Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
Video released by the Defense Department shows a semi-submersible that Trump alleges was “loaded up” with fentanyl. Two of the four people in the vessel are killed.
The two survivors, who Trump identifies as terrorists, were released to Colombia and Ecuador within hours, a move that prevents them from protesting their detention in court.
U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Alvin Holsey, military deputy commander, U.S. Southern Command, testifies before the Senate Committee on Armed Services at a confirmation hearing in Washington, Sept. 12, 2024.
Tech. Sgt. Sarah Mcclanahan/Air National Guard
The same day, Adm. Alvin Holsey, the Southern Command chief who oversees military operations in the region, announces he’s stepping down after less than a year in the post.
Oct. 17, 2025:
Hegseth announces a seventh strike in the Caribbean and alleges three men with ties to Colombian terror groups were killed in international waters.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced on his X account that the Department of War conducted a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel being operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific on Oct. 21, 2022.
@SecWar/X
Oct. 21, 2025
The operation targets its first boat in the Pacific Ocean, killing two people.
Hegseth says the eighth strike occurred in the waters west of Central America.
Oct. 22, 2025
The administration continues its attacks in the Pacific with a ninth strike on a boat.
Hegseth says the vessel was transporting narcotics and says three men were killed.
Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth posted on his X account that the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on overnight on a vessel in the Caribbean Sea, Oct. 24, 2025.
@SecWar/X
Oct. 24, 2025
Six people are killed when a boat is hit off the coast off Venezuela in the 10th strike in the operation.
Hegseth says the target was an alleged drug vessel operated by Tren de Aragua.
The U.S. has carried out strikes against four more alleged drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Oct. 28, 2025, killing 14 people.
@SecWar/X
Oct. 27, 2025
In the biggest strike to date, 14 people are killed in the Eastern Pacific, according to the defense secretary.
Hegseth says the U.S. targeted four alleged drug boats in three coordinated attacks.
The U.S. has carried out strikes against four more alleged drug vessels in the Eastern Pacific, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Oct. 28, 2025, killing 14 people.
@SecWar/X
One survivor is reported, according to Hegseth. The Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard say they are searching for the survivor.
Oct. 29, 2025
The U.S. targets another boat in the eastern Pacific and kills four people in a 15th strike, according to Hegseth.
In this screen grab from a video posted on social media, a boat is shown after being hit with a kinetic strike in the Eastern Pacific.
@SecWar
“This vessel, like all the others, was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling, was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route, and carrying narcotics,” Hegseth says without providing details.
Nov. 1, 2025
Hegseth announces that three people are killed in a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home — and they will not succeed,” Hegseth says in a post on X. “The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”
Nov. 4, 2025
In a 16th strike, two people are killed when an alleged drug boat is struck in the eastern Pacific, Hegseth announces on X.
This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on November 4, 2025 shows what Hegseth says is a lethal strike on a vessel carrying narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s X Account
“We will find and terminate EVERY vessel with the intention of trafficking drugs to America to poison our citizens. Protecting the homeland is our TOP priority. NO cartel terrorist stands a chance against the American military,” Hegseth says.
Nov. 6, 2025
Hegseth announces three people are killed in a 17th strike on an alleged drug boat, this one in the Caribbean.
This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on November 6, 2025 shows what Hegseth says is a lethal strike on a vessel carrying narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s X Account
“To all narco-terrorists who threaten our homeland: if you want to stay alive, stop trafficking drugs. If you keep trafficking deadly drugs — we will kill you,” Hegseth says in a post on X.
Nov. 9, 2025
Hegseth the following day announces two more strikes on alleged drug boats – the 18th and 19th — were carried out in the eastern Pacific, killing three people in each craft.
This screen grab from a video posted by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on his X account on November 10, 2025 shows what Hegseth says is a lethal strike on a vessel carrying narcotics in the Eastern Pacific Ocean on November 9, 2025.
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s X Account/AFP via Getty Images
“Under President Trump, we are protecting the homeland and killing these cartel terrorists who wish to harm our country and its people,” Hegseth says in a post on X.
Nov. 13, 2025
The U.S. military carried out a strike on an alleged drug cartel boat in the Caribbean earlier in the week, killing all four people aboard, a U.S. official told ABC News.
Nov. 15, 2025
The U.S. Southern Command has posted a video on X of the latest U.S. military airstrike on an alleged drug smuggling vessel. The strike occurred on Saturday in the eastern Pacific and killed three people aboard, according to officials.
There have now been 21 airstrikes against these kinds of vessels in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific, and 83 people have been killed in the strikes.