The United States military has carried out a series of deadly maritime strikes that have left 64 people dead and destroyed 16 boats in what Washington describes as a campaign to curb the movement of narcotics into the country.
Officials said only three people survived the operations, two of whom were temporarily held by the US Navy before being sent back to their home nations.
In a notice to Congress, the Trump administration stated that the US is now engaged in an “armed conflict” against drug cartels, a designation that began with its first strike on September 2.
Those killed were labeled “unlawful combatants,” with the administration asserting that it could authorize lethal action without judicial oversight based on a classified Justice Department finding.
However, some lawmakers and human rights organizations have disputed that justification, arguing that alleged traffickers should be prosecuted under US law, as had been the long-standing policy before Donald Trump assumed office.
The administration has also yet to make public any evidence proving that the targeted boats carried narcotics or were linked to drug cartels.
Military officials confirmed that no American personnel were injured in any of the operations.
First strike — September 2
Trump revealed the initial offensive on his social media platforms, saying that under his orders, US forces “conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility.”
“TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE!” he added.
According to CNN, Pentagon officials did not provide conclusive proof to Congress that the boat targeted in the first operation was actually operated by Tren de Aragua, nor could they determine where it was headed.
The outlet also reported that the vessel appeared to turn back shortly before being struck. The attack claimed 11 lives.
Second strike — mid-September
Less than two weeks later, US forces carried out another strike on a vessel in international waters, killing three people. Trump said the boat was “transporting illegal narcotics” from Venezuela.
“These extremely violent drug trafficking cartels POSE A THREAT to US National Security, Foreign Policy, and vital U.S. Interests,” he said.
The strike heightened tensions with Venezuela, which accused Washington of aggression. President Nicolás Maduro condemned the attacks as “serial executions” and urged the United Nations to investigate, calling the campaign an attempt at regime change.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino described the actions as “an undeclared war,” while the foreign ministry denounced what it termed a “military threat.”
At the time, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more military activity was expected in the Caribbean to reduce drug flow into the United States.
Third strike — September 19
Four days after the second incident, Trump confirmed another deadly strike on a suspected trafficking vessel said to be linked to a terrorist organization.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans,” Trump posted on Truth Social with footage of the operation.
Three people died in the attack.
Fourth strike — October 3
Defense Secretary Hegseth later announced a fourth strike in which four people were killed. The incident occurred in international waters off Venezuela’s coast.
He stated that “Our intelligence, without a doubt, confirmed that this vessel was trafficking narcotics, the people onboard were narco-terrorists, and they were operating on a known narco-trafficking transit route.”
Fifth strike — October 14
Six people lost their lives in the fifth attack, which officials said occurred off the Venezuelan coast.
Trump said the vessel was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” but offered no evidence to support the claim.
In a letter to Congress earlier that month, the Pentagon reaffirmed that Trump had determined the United States to be in an “armed conflict” with designated drug cartels, describing cartel members as “unlawful combatants.”
Sixth strike — October 16
The sixth strike took place in the Caribbean and was notable for leaving survivors. Two men, one from Ecuador and another from Colombia, lived through the attack and were briefly detained aboard a US Navy vessel before being repatriated.
“At least 25,000 Americans would die if I allowed this submarine to come ashore. The two surviving terrorists are being returned to their Countries of origin, Ecuador and Colombia, for detention and prosecution,” Trump said on Truth Social.
Colombian survivor Jeison Obando Pérez, 34, arrived in his country “with brain trauma, sedated, drugged, breathing with a ventilator,” according to Interior Minister Armando Benedetti, who said he received medical treatment.
The Ecuadorian survivor, Andrés Fernando Tufiño Chila, 41, was identified by Ecuador’s National Police and returned home on October 18 for medical evaluation.
Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office later said there was no record of him committing any crime in the country, though US court documents show he had been convicted of drug smuggling in Mexico in 2020 before deportation.
“No, no… He is not. He is not a criminal,” Tufiño Chila’s sister told CNN, requesting anonymity for safety reasons.
Seventh strike — October 17
The following day, Hegseth said US forces struck another vessel “transporting substantial amounts of narcotics” allegedly tied to a Colombian terrorist group. All three crew members died.
“These cartels are the Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere, using violence, murder and terrorism to impose their will, threaten our national security and poison our people,” Hegseth wrote.
“The United States military will treat these organizations like the terrorists they are, they will be hunted, and killed, just like Al Qaeda.”
The move led to friction with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, who accused the US of killing an innocent citizen. In response, Trump announced the suspension of all US aid to Colombia.
Eighth and Ninth strikes — October 21 and 22
The US then expanded its operations to the Pacific Ocean, launching strikes on two ships that killed everyone on board — two people in one attack and three in the other.
Hegseth said the first Pacific vessel was “operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization and conducting narco-trafficking in the Eastern Pacific,” adding, “The vessel was known by our intelligence to be involved in illicit narcotics smuggling.”
He stated that this marked a geographic expansion of the anti-drug campaign beyond the Caribbean. “Narco-terrorists intending to bring poison to our shores, will find no safe harbor anywhere in our hemisphere,” he warned.
Tenth strike — October 24
Six people were killed in another nighttime attack on a ship Trump said was operated by Tren de Aragua in the Caribbean.
Multiple strikes — October 27
For the first time, US forces carried out multiple strikes in one day, launching three missiles that destroyed four vessels in the eastern Pacific. Fourteen people were killed, and one person went missing.
Hegseth said the targeted ships were “operated by designated terrorist organizations” and were “transiting along known narco-trafficking routes, and carrying narcotics.”
He added that the US had contacted Mexico to assist in searching for the missing survivor, though the Mexican Navy later said the search had been suspended and the person presumed missing.
Eleventh strike — October 29
Four more people were killed when US forces attacked another vessel in the Pacific.
“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 wrote on X, noting there were no US casualties.
Twelfth strike — November 1
The most recent strike, on November 1, took place in the Caribbean Sea and killed three people.
“Today, at the direction of President Trump, the Department of War carried out a lethal kinetic strike on another narco-trafficking vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization in the Caribbean,” Hegseth announced on X, sharing an unclassified video of the attack. “No US forces were harmed in the strike,” he added.
