United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear

The United States military began executing airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean Sea in September 2025, described by the administration of President Donald Trump as part of an effort to fight the flow of illicit drugs from Latin America to the US. In October, the strikes expanded to include vessels in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. The Trump administration has alleged, without producing public evidence, that the vessels were operated by groups it designated as narcoterrorists, including the Venezuelan criminal organization Tren de Aragua and the Colombian far-left guerilla group National Liberation Army).

United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear

As part of what was later unveiled as Operation Southern Spear, the US began deploying Navy warships and personnel to the Caribbean in mid-August. Trump announced on 2 September that the US Navy had carried out the first airstrike in the Caribbean on a boat from Venezuela, killing all 11 people aboard; he released a video of the incident, which Venezuelan sources said had occurred on 1 September. US officials said that this was a military operation against drug cartels in Latin America and that these military operations would continue. as of 25 March 2026, at least 163 people had been killed (including 3 who are missing and presumed dead) in at least 47 strikes on 48 vessels and the US had made its first strike on a land target within Venezuela.

United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear

The strikes came amid tensions between the United States and Venezuela as Trump steadily increased pressure. Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro repeatedly accused the US of seeking regime change which some third-party sources agree with. Experts, human rights groups and international bodies have said the killings are illegal under US and international law, and the Colombian and Venezuelan governments have accused the US of extrajudicial murder. In 2025 the Republican-controlled US Senate twice rejected resolutions that would limit Trump's authority to continue military action against Venezuela or airstrikes against alleged drug vessels. On 3 January 2026, Maduro was captured and flown out of the country by US forces.

United States strikes on alleged drug traffickers during Operation Southern Spear