By BEN FINLEY, KONSTANTIN TOROPIN and REGINA GARCIA CANO, Related Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has constructed up a fleet of warships close to Venezuela, together with the biggest U.S. plane provider, as American forces preserve blowing up small boats accused of smuggling narcotics for drug cartels.
The expanded U.S. army presence, the biggest in Latin America in many years, is fueling hypothesis about how the forces could possibly be employed. President Donald Trump has stated that land assaults are coming quickly, with out providing any particulars on location.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has insisted the actual function of the U.S. army operations is to drive him from workplace.
The Trump administration says the army has killed no less than 87 folks in 22 recognized strikes within the Caribbean Sea and japanese Pacific Ocean since early September. Trump has justified the assaults as a mandatory escalation to stem the stream of medication into the USA and asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels.
Because the variety of strikes has grown with out a declaration of battle from Congress, lawmakers have questioned the authorized reasoning for them.
Here’s a timeline of the U.S. army actions, issues amongst some lawmakers and the response in Venezuela:
Jan. 20
Trump indicators an govt order that paves the way in which for felony organizations and drug cartels to be named “foreign terrorist organizations.” They embody Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan road gang.
The U.S. intelligence group has disputed Trump’s central declare that Maduro’s administration is working with Tren de Aragua and orchestrating drug trafficking and unlawful immigration into the U.S.
Feb. 20
The Trump administration formally designates eight Latin American crime organizations as overseas terrorist organizations.
The label is generally reserved for teams like al-Qaida or the Islamic State that use violence for political ends — not for profit-focused crime rings.
Aug. 19
The U.S. army deploys three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela.
FILE The united statesGerald R. Ford plane provider leaves Naval Station Norfolk, June 23, 2025, in Norfolk, Va. (AP Photograph/John Clark, File)
The naval drive within the Caribbean grows inside weeks to incorporate three amphibious assault ships and different vessels, carrying about 6,000 sailors and Marines and a wide range of plane.
The U.S. deploys F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September, whereas a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles operates off South America.
Sept. 2
The U.S. carries out its first strike in opposition to what Trump says was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.
Trump says all 11 folks on the boat have been killed and posts a brief video clip of a small vessel showing to blow up in flames.
Sept. 10
In a letter to the White Home, Democratic senators say the Trump administration has offered “no legitimate legal justification” for the strike.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the highest Democrat on the Senate Armed Companies Committee, says in a flooring speech that week that the U.S. army will not be “empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.”
Sept. 15
The U.S. army carries out its second strike in opposition to an alleged drug boat, killing three folks.
Requested what proof the U.S. has that the vessel was carrying medicine, Trump instructed reporters that huge luggage of cocaine and fentanyl have been spattered everywhere in the ocean. Nevertheless, photographs of what Trump described weren’t launched by the army or the White Home.
Sept. 19
Trump says the U.S. army carried out its third deadly strike in opposition to an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. The president says the assault killed three folks and intelligence “confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics.”
A number of senators and human rights teams proceed to query the legality of the strikes, describing them as a possible overreach of govt authority.
Oct. 2
Trump declares drug cartels to be illegal combatants and says the U.S. is now in an “armed conflict” with them, based on a Trump administration memo obtained by The Related Press.
The memo seems to symbolize a unprecedented assertion of presidential battle powers and attracts criticism from some lawmakers, together with Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Oct. 3
Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth says he ordered a fourth strike on a small boat he accuses of carrying medicine. He says 4 males have been killed however affords no particulars on who they have been or what group they belonged to.
President Donald Trump is greeted by Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth earlier than chatting with a gathering of high U.S. army commanders at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025, in Quantico, Va. (AP Photograph/Evan Vucci)
Oct. 8
Senate Republicans vote down laws that might have required the president to hunt authorization from Congress earlier than additional army strikes. The vote fell principally alongside celebration strains, 48-51.
Oct. 14
Trump declares the fifth strike in opposition to a small boat accused of carrying medicine, saying it killed six folks. The president says intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics on a recognized drug-trafficking route.
Oct. 15
Trump confirms he has approved the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and says he’s weighing finishing up land operations within the nation.
He declines to say whether or not the CIA has authority to take motion in opposition to Maduro.
Oct. 16
The Navy admiral who oversees army operations within the area says he’ll retire in December.
Adm. Alvin Holsey grew to become chief of U.S. Southern Command solely the earlier November, overseeing an space that encompasses the Caribbean and waters off South America. Such postings usually final three to 4 years.
Oct. 16
Trump says the U.S. struck a sixth suspected drug-carrying vessel within the Caribbean, killing two folks and leaving two survivors who have been on the semi-submersible craft.
The president later says the survivors could be despatched to Ecuador and Colombia, their house nations, “for detention and prosecution.” Repatriation averted questions on what their authorized standing would have been within the U.S. justice system.
Oct. 17
The U.S. army assaults a seventh vessel that Hegseth says was carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics” and related to a Colombian insurgent group, the Nationwide Liberation Military, or ELN. Three individuals are killed.
Oct. 20
Rep. Adam Smith, high Democrat on the Home Armed Companies Committee, requires a listening to on the boat strikes.
“Never before in my over 20 years on the committee can I recall seeing a combatant commander leave their post this early and amid such turmoil,” Smith stated in a press release of Holsey’s impending departure. “I have also never seen such a staggering lack of transparency on behalf of an Administration and the Department to meaningfully inform Congress on the use of lethal military force.”
Oct. 21
Hegseth says the U.S. army launched its eighth strike in opposition to an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two folks within the japanese Pacific.
The assault marks an growth of the army’s focusing on space to the waters off South America the place a lot of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.
Oct. 22
Hegseth declares the ninth strike, one other within the japanese Pacific, saying three males are killed.
Oct. 24
Hegseth orders the U.S. army’s most superior plane provider, the united statesGerald R. Ford, to the area in a major escalation of army firepower.
Oct. 24
Hegseth says the army performed the tenth strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six folks lifeless. He says the vessel was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang.
Oct. 27
Hegseth says three extra strikes have been carried out within the japanese Pacific, killing 14 folks and leaving one survivor.
Hegseth says Mexican authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the only real survivor, who’s presumed lifeless after Mexico suspended its search after 4 days.
Oct. 29
Hegseth says the U.S. army carried out one other strike on a ship he stated was carrying medicine within the japanese Pacific, killing all 4 folks aboard within the 14th assault.
Oct. 29
Sen. Mark Warner, the rating Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Trump administration briefed Republicans — however not Democrats — on the boat strikes.
The Senate on the time was dealing with a possible vote on a battle powers decision that might prohibit strikes in or close to Venezuela with out congressional approval.
Oct. 31
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk requires an investigation into the strikes, in what gave the impression to be the primary such condemnation of its variety from a United Nations group.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk’s workplace, relayed his message at a briefing: “The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
Nov. 1
Hegseth posts one other video as he declares the fifteenth recognized strike, saying the vessel within the Caribbean was operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist group. He doesn’t title the group and says three folks have been killed.
Nov. 4
Within the sixteenth recognized strike, Hegseth posts on social media that two folks have been killed aboard a vessel within the japanese Pacific.
The identical day, the Ford plane provider leaves the Mediterranean Sea on its technique to the Caribbean.
Nov. 6
Hegseth declares the seventeenth recognized strike, which killed three folks.
Nov. 6
Senate Republicans vote to reject laws that might have restricted Trump’s capability to order an assault on Venezuelan soil with out congressional authorization.
Lawmakers from each events had demanded extra data on the strikes, however Republicans appeared extra prepared to present Trump leeway to proceed his buildup of naval forces.
Nov. 9
The U.S. army strikes two vessels within the japanese Pacific, killing six folks, based on an announcement from Hegseth the next day.
Nov. 10
The twentieth recognized strike on a ship accused of transporting medicine kills 4 folks within the Caribbean, based on a social media publish from the U.S. army’s Southern Command.
Nov. 11
Venezuela’s authorities launches what it says is a “massive” mobilization of troops and volunteers for 2 days of workout routines prompted by the U.S. army buildup.
Protection Minister Vladimir Padrino López asserts that Venezuela’s army is “stronger than ever in its unity, morale and equipment.”
Nov. 15
Three individuals are killed after the U.S. army conducts its twenty first strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat within the japanese Pacific, based on a publish from Southern Command a day later.
Nov. 16
The Ford arrives within the Caribbean, a significant second within the Trump administration’s present of drive.
The plane provider’s arrival brings the overall variety of troops within the area to round 12,000 on practically a dozen Navy ships in what Hegseth has dubbed “Operation Southern Spear.”
Nov. 16
Trump says the U.S. “ may be having some discussions ” with Maduro and that “Venezuela would like to talk,” with out providing particulars.
“I’ll talk to anybody,” Trump stated. “We’ll see what happens.”
Dec. 4
Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley seems for closed-door labeled briefings on the Capitol as lawmakers start investigating the strikes. The investigation started following experiences that Bradley ordered a follow-on assault that killed the survivors of the primary strike on Sept. 2 to adjust to Hegesth’s calls for.
U.S. Navy Adm. Frank M. Bradley walks alongside a hallway after a gathering with senators on Capitol Hill, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photograph/Mark Schiefelbein)
Republican Sen. Tom Cotton later tells reporters that “Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all.”
In the meantime, Democrats say they discovered the video of the whole assault disturbing.
Washington Rep. Adam Smith, the highest Democrat on the Home Armed Companies Committee, says the survivors have been “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.”
Dec. 4
4 individuals are killed within the twenty second strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat within the japanese Pacific, based on a publish from Southern Command.
Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.
