Donald Trump administration has carried out at least 29 lethal strikes against boats it claims were involved in drug smuggling in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific since early September, killing at least 105 people, according to official US figures.
The latest US strike, confirmed on Monday (22 December), has intensified scrutiny from lawmakers and human rights groups who question both the legal basis and the evidence underpinning the campaign.
The US Southern Command said it conducted another strike on a vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean that it alleged was smuggling drugs. One person was killed.
In a social media post, Southern Command said: “Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations.”
No evidence was released to substantiate the claim.
Video footage shared by the command shows water splashes near the vessel before flames engulf its rear section. In the final moments, the boat appears disabled and drifting, with a large fire burning alongside it.
Earlier strike videos released by the US military showed vessels exploding mid-sea, suggesting missile or rocket strikes. Some footage appeared to show projectile-like objects descending onto the boats.
The Trump administration says it is now in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels, arguing that military force is necessary to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States and to increase pressure on Nicolás Maduro.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that Maduro’s government is complicit in drug trafficking and has described the campaign as part of a broader effort to dismantle what Washington calls “narco-terror networks”.
Maduro has rejected the accusations, insisting that the US military buildup is aimed at forcing him from power.
The campaign has been accompanied by the largest US naval deployment to the region in generations. Since August, the Pentagon has dispatched guided-missile destroyers, amphibious assault ships, a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles and F-35 fighter jets to the Caribbean and waters off South America.
By mid-November, the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford brought the total US force presence to around 12,000 troops on nearly a dozen Navy ships — an operation Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has dubbed “Operation Southern Spear.”
Trump has also said repeatedly that land-based operations are under consideration.
Donald Trump signs an executive order paving the way for drug cartels and criminal organisations to be designated as foreign terrorist organisations, including Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua.
US intelligence agencies dispute Trump’s claim that Nicolás Maduro’s government is coordinating drug trafficking and illegal migration into the US.
The US military deploys three guided-missile destroyers off Venezuela’s coast.
Within weeks, the buildup expands to include three amphibious assault ships, other naval vessels, and roughly 6,000 sailors and Marines.
F-35 fighter jets are deployed to Puerto Rico in September, while a cruise-missile-armed submarine operates off South America.
Democratic senators warn the White House there is “no legitimate legal justification” for the strike.
A second strike kills three people. Trump claims cocaine and fentanyl were scattered across the sea, but no images are released.
A third strike kills three more, with Trump asserting intelligence confirmed drug trafficking.
Lawmakers and human rights groups begin questioning the legality of the campaign.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth orders multiple strikes, each killing between two and six people, expanding operations into the eastern Pacific.
Senate Republicans block legislation requiring congressional authorisation for further strikes.
Trump authorises the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and says land operations are under consideration.
The commander of US Southern Command announces early retirement amid turmoil.
The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is ordered to the region.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk calls for an investigation, warning of extrajudicial killings.
By month’s end, 14 strikes have been carried out, killing dozens.
Venezuelan authorities launch a “massive” military mobilisation in response to the US buildup.
The USS Gerald R. Ford arrives in the Caribbean, raising total US forces in the region to around 12,000 personnel across nearly a dozen ships under Operation Southern Spear.
Trump signals openness to talks with Maduro, saying, “I’ll talk to anybody.”
By mid-November, the strike count reaches 21, with dozens more killed.
Lawmakers receive classified footage of a September strike allegedly showing survivors being killed in a follow-on attack.
Rep Adam Smith calls the video disturbing, describing survivors “clinging to the bow of a capsized boat — until the missiles come and kill them.”
The US seizes an oil tanker carrying 2 million barrels of Venezuelan crude, which Attorney General Pam Bondi calls part of an illicit terror-linked network. Venezuela calls it “international piracy.”
A series of strikes between December 15 and 18 kills at least 17 people.
Trump orders a blockade of “sanctioned oil tankers” entering and leaving Venezuela.
The US Coast Guard pursues vessels linked to Venezuela’s so-called “dark fleet.”
By December 22, the campaign reaches 29 known strikes, with the confirmed death toll climbing to at least 105 people.
Human rights organisations argue that the strikes amount to extrajudicial killings, particularly given the lack of publicly released intelligence.
On 31 October, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called for an investigation. His office said: “The US must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
Concerns deepened in December after lawmakers were shown classified footage of a September strike in which survivors clung to a disabled boat before being killed in a follow-on attack.
Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the images were disturbing: “Basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water — until the missiles come and kill them.”
Caracas rejected the claim, saying the seizure: “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”
Venezuela has since launched what it described as a “massive” military mobilisation and warned it would defend its sovereignty.