Tracking Every US Strike on Boats in the Caribbean and Pacific
The Trump administration is committing illegal strike after illegal strike. Don’t look away, and don’t lose track.
Donald Trump’s administration has been blowing up boats in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean with reckless abandon.
It began in September with one shadowy strike on a boat – an attack we subsequently learned was followed by a “double-tap” strike to kill all remaining survivors, reportedly to comply with an order from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Since then, the Trump administration has launched at least 20 more lawless strikes – as the United States lurches closer to a full-on invasion of Venezuela.
With the Trump administration’s rapid escalation, it has become easy for Americans to lose sight of how radical and dangerous the administration’s attacks have been. While the administration has posted partial footage of the attacks, accompanied by gloats, officials have not publicly acknowledged all the strikes; some have remained entirely unannounced. But we won’t allow the Trump regime to overwhelm Americans and normalize its illegal strikes.
Take a look at our tracker of the administration’s lawless military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and Pacific:
September 2, 2025 – US strikes killed 11 people allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela. This first boat attack has since been revealed to have involved a double-tap strike. The military launched a second attack killing two shipwrecked men who had survived the initial strike. The administration posted some footage of the attack.
A small group of lawmakers, though, have been shown video of the second attack, which experts have called a potential war crime. Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) told reporters that what he saw in that footage “was one of the most troubling things I’ve seen in my time in public service,” adding: “You have two individuals in clear distress without any means of locomotion, with a destroyed vessel, who are killed by the United States.”
The boat was also revealed to be heading to Suriname – not to the United States as Trump had claimed.
September 15, 2025 – A US strike killed three people on a boat that Trump also described as a Venezuelan drug vessel heading towards the US. The White House posted footage of this attack. The family of one of the victims, a Colombian man, has filed the first formal legal challenge against the US strikes. Filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the family argued that his death was an extrajudicial killing.
September 19, 2025 – A US strike killed three more people on a boat, with Trump posting a video of the strike. “Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans,” Trump claimed, without evidence, on Truth Social.
October 3, 2025 – Hegseth said the US killed four more people in a strike off the coast of Venezuela, again sharing video of the strike but providing no evidence the boat was carrying drugs. Trump claimed (without citing any evidence) that the boat had enough drugs to kill 25,000 to 50,000 people. Hegseth posted footage of the attack.
October 14, 2025 – Trump announced another strike off the coast of Venezuela that killed six more people. On Truth Social, Trump said the boat was “affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization” but did not provide any details or evidence. Hegseth posted footage of the attack.
October 16, 2025 – The US carried out a strike on what Trump called a “very large DRUG-CARRYING SUBMARINE,” killing two people. Two survivors from Colombia and Ecuador were found and returned back to their home countries. Ecuador said there was no evidence that their national committed any crime. The Defense Department posted footage of the attack.
October 17, 2025 – A US strike killed three people, with Hegseth claiming the boat belonged to Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN), a US-designated terrorist organization. ELN rebels denied any involvement with the alleged drug vessel, and Colombian President Gustavo Petro said it was the property of a “humble family.” Hegseth posted footage of the attack.
October 21, 2025 – Hegseth announced killing five more people in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, in a post on Twitter, accompanied by another video. “The attack on another boat in the Pacific, we don’t know if it’s Ecuadorean or Colombian, killed people,” said Petro. “It is murder. Whether in the Caribbean or Pacific, the US government strategy breaks the norms of international law.”
October 24, 2025 – Hegseth announced in a post on Twitter that the US killed six “narco-terrorists,” allegedly on a vessel “operated by Tren de Aragua” in the Caribbean. While again providing no evidence for any of his claims, he attached another video of the attack, which he said was the first strike conducted at night.
October 27, 2025 – Three US strikes killed 14 people on vessels in the Eastern Pacific. One person survived and Hegseth said Mexican authorities took over the search-and-rescue operation for the lone survivor. Four days later, Mexico’s navy said it was suspending the search operation. Hegseth posted footage of the attacks.
October 29, 2025 – Hegseth said that a US strike killed four men in the Eastern Pacific. He again alleged it was a drug vessel, and posted a video clip of the attack.
November 1, 2025 – Hegseth said that a US strike killed three men aboard a vessel in the Caribbean, again claiming it was operated by a designated terrorist organization. He posted an accompanying video.
November 4, 2025 – Hegseth announced another strike that killed two men in the Eastern Pacific, on a vessel he claimed was operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization.” He posted a video of this strike, too.
November 6, 2025 – Hegseth announced the killing of three men in the Caribbean, again posting a video and alleging the boat was operated by a “Designated Terrorist Organization.”
November 9, 2025 – Hegseth said that the US carried out two strikes on two vessels in the Eastern Pacific, killing six people. He posted footage of the attack.
November 12, 2025 – In a shift, US Southern Command announced that the US killed four people in the Caribbean, and that this attack was the 20th strike in the ongoing, unauthorized extrajudicial killing campaign.
November 15, 2025 – Continuing the trend, US SOUTHCOM announced another strike that killed three people in the Eastern Pacific, attaching video.
December 4, 2025 – US SOUTHCOM announced another strike killing four people in the Eastern Pacific, attaching video of the attack.
Total strike count: 22
Total death toll: 87
Safiya Chagani contributed to this reporting.
We will update this article with new developments.
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