Every US strike on narco boats in South America | Political News

In under two months, President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declare the U.S. army has eradicated at least 37 people in 9 operations focusing on drug-smuggling vessels across the Caribbean Sea and jap Pacific Ocean.

Trump has defended the strikes as a essential escalation needed to halt the inflow of narcotics into the United States. He has declared the U.S. is waging an “armed conflict” against drug cartels, invoking the same legal framework utilized by the Bush administration when it launched the struggle on terror following the Sept. 11 assaults.

However, as the frequency of operations has elevated, congressional debate has intensified concerning presidential authority limits.

The strikes have proceeded without legal review or a formal congressional struggle declaration, prompting some legislators to query the absence of concrete evidence supporting the killings.

Additionally, an unprecedented naval presence close to South America has fueled invasion considerations in Venezuela and rumors that Trump may attempt to overthrow President Nicolás Maduro, who faces narcoterrorism expenses in the U.S.

Here is a timeline of the U.S. army actions and the considerations among some lawmakers:

Jan. 20

Trump authorizes an government order on his inaugural day returning to the White House that allows legal organizations and drug cartels to be designated “foreign terrorist organizations.”

These embody Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan road gang. The U.S. intelligence neighborhood has contradicted Trump’s main assertion that Maduro’s administration is collaborating with Tren de Aragua to facilitate drug trafficking and unlawful immigration into the U.S.

Feb. 20

The Trump administration formally labeled eight Latin American crime organizations as overseas terrorist organizations.

This designation is often reserved for teams like al-Qaida or the Islamic State, which use violence for political functions – not profit-driven legal rings.

Aug. 19

U.S. officers have confirmed the deployment of three Aegis guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela as half of Trump’s initiative to counter threats from Latin American drug cartels.

Within weeks, the naval drive in the Caribbean expanded to embody three amphibious assault ships and two other U.S. Navy vessels, totaling about 6,000 sailors and Marines. The amphibious assault ships are geared up with a selection of plane, and the U.S. deployed F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September.

A Navy submarine, succesful of carrying and launching cruise missiles, is also working off South America.

Sept. 2

The U.S. executed its first strike against what Trump claimed was a drug-carrying vessel that had departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.

Trump reported that 11 people had been killed and posted a transient video clip of a small vessel showing to explode in flames. The video doesn’t show any large or clear caches of medicine inside the boat.

Sept. 10

In a letter addressed to the White House, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and two dozen other Democratic senators have accused the Trump administration of offering “no legitimate legal justification” for the strike.

Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed, the main Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, acknowledged in a ground speech that week that the U.S. army just isn’t “empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.”

Sept. 11

Meanwhile, in Venezuela, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello has accused the U.S. authorities of homicide, while questioning the connection between the people on the focused vessel and the gang.

“And how did they identify them as members of the Tren de Aragua? Did they have, I don’t know, a chip? Did they have a QR code and (the U.S. military) read it from above in the dark?” Cabello questioned. “They openly confessed to murdering 11 people.”

Sept. 15

The U.S. army executed its second strike against an alleged drug boat, ensuing in three fatalities.

When requested about evidence that the vessel was transporting medicine, Trump informed reporters: “We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo that was spattered all over the ocean – big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place.”

Sept. 19

Trump announced that the U.S. army had performed its third deadly strike against an alleged drug smuggling vessel. The president confirmed that the assault resulted in three deaths and that intelligence “confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics.”

Several senators and human rights organizations are raising questions about the legality of these strikes, labeling them as a potential overstep of government energy.

Oct. 2

According to a memo obtained by The Associated Press, Trump has declared drug cartels as illegal combatants and acknowledged that the U.S. is now engaged in an “armed conflict” with them.

This memo appears to be an extraordinary declare of presidential struggle powers, with Trump basically stating that drug trafficking into the U.S. constitutes an armed battle that necessitates the use of army drive.

The memo has drawn criticism from some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. He argued that only Congress has the authority to declare struggle and described the memo as “a way to pretend like” the administration is offering lawmakers with a justification for the strikes.

Oct. 3

Hegseth claims he ordered a fourth strike on a small boat he accuses of transporting medicine in the waters off Venezuela. He states the strike killed 4 males but doesn’t present particulars on their identities or the group they had been affiliated with.

In his own social media post, Trump says the boat was “loaded with enough drugs to kill 25 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE” and urged it was “entering American Territory” while off the coast of Venezuela.

Oct. 8

Senate Republicans voted against laws that would have required the president to search authorization from Congress before conducting additional army strikes on the cartels.

The vote fell principally along celebration traces, 48-51, with two Republicans, Paul and Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voting against.

Oct. 14

Trump proclaims the fifth strike against a small boat accused of carrying medicine, saying it killed six people. The president says “intelligence” confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, related with “narcoterrorist networks” and on a recognized drug trafficking route.

Oct. 15

Trump confirms he has licensed the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and says he was weighing finishing up land operations on the nation.

The president says the administration “is looking at land” as it considers additional strikes in the area. He declines to say whether or not the CIA has authority to take motion against Maduro.

Oct. 16

The Navy admiral who oversees army operations in the area says he’ll retire in December.

Adm. Alvin Holsey turned the chief of U.S. Southern Command only last November, overseeing an space that encompasses the Caribbean Sea and waters off South America. These sorts of postings usually last between three and 4 years.

Oct. 16

Trump says the U.S. struck a sixth suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, killing two people and leaving two survivors who had been on the semi-submersible craft. The president later acknowledged that the survivors could be despatched back to Ecuador and Colombia, their home nations, “for detention and prosecution.”

This transfer sidestepped any potential legal problems within the U.S. justice system.

Oct. 17

The U.S. army focused a seventh vessel, which Hegseth claimed was loaded with “substantial amounts of narcotics” and linked to a Colombian insurgent group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN. He reported that the strike resulted in the deaths of all three “terrorists” on board.

On Oct. 19, when Hegseth announced the strike, he did not present any evidence to help his claims but did share a transient video clip displaying a boat engulfed in flames.

Oct. 20

Rep. Adam Smith, a main Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, demanded a listening to on the boat strikes.

In a assertion concerning Holsey’s impending departure, Smith said, “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,” He added, “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

A bunch of unbiased specialists, commissioned by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, criticized the “covert actions and threats” the U.S. is using against Venezuela, stating that these assaults are occurring without correct legal justification.

“These actions also violate the fundamental international obligations not to intervene in the domestic affairs or threaten to use armed force against another country,” the specialists declared in a assertion. “These moves are an extremely dangerous escalation with grave implications for peace and security in the Caribbean region.”

The assertion revealed that specialists have communicated their considerations to U.S. officers.

Hegseth reported that the U.S. army executed its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, ensuing in two fatalities in the jap Pacific Ocean.

The assault, publicized on social media a day later, signifies an enlargement of the army’s focusing on space and a transition to the waters off South America where a vital quantity of cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.

Oct. 22

Hegseth announced the ninth strike, another in the jap Pacific Ocean, stating three males had been killed. Video he posted on social media depicted a boat in movement, an explosion, adopted by flames and smoke billowing out of the vessel.

The footage then cuts to what seems to be a number of packages floating on the water.