The US military's strikes on alleged drug boats off Venezuela and in the Pacific

In late October the strikes spread to the eastern Pacific.^[12][2] Hegseth announced strikes on four boats there in a single day, killing 14 and leaving one survivor,^[13] as an aircraft carrier headed to the region.^[14] By the end of 2025 there had been at least 30 known strikes.^[15] The Coast Guard searched for people who had jumped overboard from boats attacked days earlier.^[16][17] The strikes continued after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in January 2026.^[18] The death toll passed 148 in February and reached 205 by the end of May, according to Associated Press tallies.^[19][20] In June, Trump said a US strike had killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of Tren de Aragua.^[21] After a pause of more than two months, the strikes resumed in the eastern Pacific in late August.^[22][23]

The first strike became the center of the dispute. In late November 2025, The Washington Post reported that Hegseth had given a verbal order to leave no survivors, and that a second strike had killed survivors of the initial attack.^[6][24] Lawmakers from both parties said they supported congressional reviews.^[6] Trump said he did not believe the report and "wouldn't have wanted a second strike."^[24] The White House said Adm. Frank "Mitch" Bradley, head of US Special Operations Command, had ordered the follow-up strike, and insisted it was lawful.^[25][26] Hegseth cited the "fog of war," saying he had not seen survivors in the water when it was ordered.^[27] Republican Sen. Rand Paul said Hegseth was either lying or incompetent.^[28] The publisher of the children's book character Franklin objected after Hegseth posted a parody of the turtle firing on boats.^[29] In January 2026, reports said the first strike had been carried out by a classified aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane, which some experts said could be a war crime.^[30][31]

The campaign's legality was questioned at home and abroad. Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego called the strikes "murder,"^[32] and the UN human rights chief said they were "unacceptable" and must stop.^[33] Britain suspended some intelligence sharing with the US on suspected drug vessels over legal concerns.^[34] In December 2025, House Republicans rejected efforts to check Trump's power to use military force against cartels,^[35] and Hegseth said Trump could take military action "as he sees fit."^[36] The family of a Colombian fisherman killed in a September strike filed a complaint alleging that he was murdered.^[37] In January 2026, the families of two Trinidadian men killed in an October strike sued the administration with the American Civil Liberties Union, saying the men were innocent passengers.^[38] In May the Pentagon's inspector general, its internal watchdog, began evaluating the intelligence and targeting behind the strikes.^[39] In August, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine said the strikes had likely killed people "not involved in narcotrafficking."^[40] In September a UN special rapporteur, an independent expert reporting to the UN Human Rights Council, found "reasonable grounds to believe" the attacks may constitute crimes against humanity.^[3][41] The wider US campaign against Maduro is followed in its own arc.