Editor’s note: This list was updated on Nov. 6, 2025, at 1:07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
Since early September, the U.S. military has conducted strikes against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean in support of what the Pentagon has called continued counternarcotics efforts.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on his first day in office designating cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The administration, arguing the U.S. is in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels, has described the strikes as necessary to prevent illicit drugs from entering the United States.
Military Times is maintaining a list of strikes conducted by the U.S. military since early September, based on reporting by Military Times, The Associated Press and strikes acknowledged by the Trump administration.
As of Nov. 6, the Trump administration has disclosed 16 strikes, killing at least 66 people.
November 2025
Nov. 4: The U.S. military launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that the Trump administration said was operated by a designated terrorist organization in the eastern Pacific, killing two, according to an X post from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Nov. 1: Hegseth said in a social media post that the U.S. military conducted a strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing three people.
October 2025
Oct. 29: The U.S. military struck an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing four. Hegseth announced the lethal strike in an X post, claiming intelligence showed the vessel to be carrying narcotics.
Oct. 27: The U.S. military launched three strikes against three alleged drug-carrying vessels in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 and leaving one survivor, Hegseth said in a post on X.
It was the first time multiple strikes occurred in one day and the second instance in which there was a survivor.
Oct. 24: The U.S. military conducted its tenth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that was purportedly associated with the Tren de Aragua gang and operating in the Caribbean, killing six people, according to Hegseth. That same day, the Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier and its strike group to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command area of operations, said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell.
Oct. 22: Hegseth announced a ninth strike against an alleged-drug carrying vessel and the second conducted in the eastern Pacific. The strike killed three people.
Oct. 21: The U.S. military conducted an eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the eastern Pacific, killing two, according to a social media post from Hegseth.
It was the first strike to take place outside of the Caribbean.
Oct. 17: Hegseth confirmed in an X post that the U.S. military launched a lethal strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility, killing three.
Those on board were affiliated with designated terrorist organization Ejército de Liberación Nacional, Hegseth claimed, calling the cartels the “Al Qaeda of the Western Hemisphere.”
Oct. 16: The U.S. launched a sixth strike on an alleged drug-carrying submarine in the Caribbean, killing two and leaving survivors for the first time.
The Trump administration didn’t initially acknowledge the strike, with details first emerging from news reports.
The two survivors were initially picked up by the U.S. military before being repatriated to their countries.
On Truth Social, Trump confirmed the strike and said that U.S. intelligence confirmed the submarine contained fentanyl and other narcotics.
The same day as the sixth strike, Hegseth announced in an X post that U.S. Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey would be stepping down as the head of US. Southern Command.
Holsey had served in the position for less than a year at the time, overseeing military strikes in the Caribbean.
While Hegseth said in his X post that the admiral was retiring, the reason was unclear.
The New York Times reported that Holsey had voiced concerns about the U.S. military’s mission in Central and South America and the recent strikes on alleged drug boats off the Venezuelan coast.
Oct. 14: Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. military struck a small boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people.
Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Congress voiced concerns over the legality of the strikes against the alleged drug-carrying vessels. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., asked for “the evidence linking them to being part of a gang” and for the names of those killed.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., labeled the strikes “illegal killings.”
Oct. 3: Hegseth announced a fourth strike on an alleged drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing four.
He posted the information to X, including a video of the boat that was destroyed during the strike.
A Pentagon memo sent to congressional national security committees earlier in the week declared that Trump said the U.S. was involved in a “non-international armed conflict” with cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
“The President directed the Department of War to conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict,” the memo said. “The United States has now reached a critical point where we must use force in self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations.”
September 2025
Sept. 19: Trump took to Truth Social to provide details about a third strike against alleged drug-carrying vessels in the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility.
He announced the death of three individuals aboard the vessel, which he claimed was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking.”
Sept. 15: Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. military carried out a second lethal strike against an alleged drug boat coming from Venezuela, killing three on board.
Sept. 2: At an Oval Office event, Trump announced the first U.S. strike in the southern Caribbean against an alleged drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela. Trump offered few details about the strike during his remarks at the event, but later said on Truth Social that 11 people belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang were killed. Trump included an unclassified video of the lethal strike on what appeared to be a small boat.
U.S. military operations in the southern Caribbean ramped up in late August 2025 when the U.S. deployed three Aegis guided-missile destroyers — USS Gravely, USS Jason Dunham and USS Sampson — to the waters off Venezuela.
Former Military Times reporter Carla Babb contributed to this report.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.
Beth Sullivan is an editor for Military Times. Previously, she worked as a staff reporter for The Daily Memphian and as an assistant editor at The Austin Chronicle.
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