Boat Strikes + Drug-related Military Ops

Legal justification (boat strikes)

Nov. 17 - A classified OLC memorandum justifying the administration’s drug-boat strikes cites fentanyl’s potential as a chemical-weapons threat, though a Justice Department spokesperson stated the opinion doesn’t rely on that argument. (WSJ.)
Nov. 14 - The New York Times reports that a classified memorandum from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel approving President Trump’s boat strikes relied “on the idea that the United States and its allies are legally in a state of armed conflict with drug cartels, a premise that derives heavily from assertions that the White House itself has put forward.” (NYT.) The U.S. military on Wednesday killed another four people accused by the Trump administration of trafficking drugs by sea, bringing the strike count to 20 and the death toll to 80 people. (NYT.)

Pacific

Jan. 2 - U.S. Southern Command announced on Wednesday that it struck three more alleged drug vessels, killing three people while others jumped overboard and may have survived. SOUTHCOM noted that following the strikes, it immediately notified the Coast Guard to activate search and rescue efforts. (X.) (Politico.) Later that day, SOUTHCOM wrote that five more people died in “a lethal kinetic strike on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations.” (X.)
Dec. 17 - The U.S. military announced that it had carried out strikes against three additional boats said to be carrying drugs through the Eastern Pacific on Monday, killing eight. (X.) (NYT.)
Nov. 5 - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Tuesday that the U.S. had killed “two male narco-terrorists” in another strike on an alleged drug vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean. (X.) (NYT.)
Oct. 30 - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced another lethal strike against a boat that he said was operated by a “designated terrorist organization” in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Wednesday. (NYT.)
Oct. 29 - The U.S. on Monday carried out lethal strikes on four more boats allegedly operated by drug smugglers in the Eastern Pacific. (WSJ.)
Oct. 23 - Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced that the U.S. had conducted a second lethal strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Eastern Pacific. He noted that, “These strikes will continue, day after day.” (X.) (NYT.)

Caribbean

Jan. 14 - Pentagon officials reportedly told lawmakers that the military used an aircraft painted in civilian colors to strike an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean not to deceive its targets but because it was the fastest unit ready for the operation. (WSJ.) See yesterday’s Roundup for background.
Jan. 13 - Anonymous sources told the New York Times that the Sept. 2 boat strike in the Caribbean was conducted using an aircraft painted to look like a civilian plane and which carried munitions inside the fuselage rather than visibly under its wings. (NYT.)
Dec. 17 - Following a classified congressional briefing on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Pentagon will not release the full, unedited video of the follow-on strike that killed two survivors of a first attack on an alleged drug vessel on Sept. 2. (Politico.)
Dec. 10 - Rights groups sued the Department of Justice, the Department of State, and the Department of Defense in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York seeking records under the Freedom of Information Act related to a classified Office of Legal Counsel opinion justifying the ongoing boat strikes. The suit additionally seeks the release of a July 2025 presidential directive authorizing military force against drug cartels. (Complaint.) (WaPo.) Rep. Mike D. Rogers, the Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, announced Tuesday that he plans to wind down the panel’s inquiry into the follow-up strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat that killed two survivors on Sept. 2. (WaPo.)
Dec. 9 - President Trump on Monday said that it was up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to decide whether to release the full video of the Sept. 2 strike against an alleged drug-trafficking boat. (WaPo.) The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act contains a provision withholding a quarter of Secretary Hegseth’s travel budget until the Pentagon provides the House and Senate Armed Services Committees with “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command.” (Politico.)
Dec. 5 - Adm. Frank M. Bradley and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine on Thursday briefed leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, in addition to military appropriators, about the decision to conduct a follow-up strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean in September. Lawmakers said video of the attack showed two men unsuccessfully attempting to flip the front portion of the boat, which was capsized but still afloat, before the men were killed in the second strike. Bradley, the commander of the operation, insisted that the second strike was lawful and told lawmakers that Secretary Hegseth had not given him an order to grant no quarter. (NYT.) While some GOP members who viewed the video defended the follow-up strike as justified, Democrats said it depicted two shipwrecked men posing no threat and demanded the Pentagon publicly release the full, unedited footage. (WSJ.)
Dec. 4 - According to the Wall Street Journal, Adm. Frank Bradley is expected to tell lawmakers in a closed-door briefing today that the two survivors of the Sept. 2 boat strike were trying to continue a drug run—making them and the damaged vessel, in his view and that of his legal adviser, legitimate targets for a second strike. (WSJ.) Tess Bridgeman, Margaret Donovan, and Ryan Goodman outlined questions that Congress should pose to U.S. officials regarding the strikes on alleged drug vessels. (Just Security.)
Dec. 3 - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that he witnessed the first strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 2 but left the room before the second strike that killed two remaining survivors, learning of it only after the fact. He stated that Adm. Frank M. Bradley, whom Hegseth had authorized to execute the operation, “made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat.” (WSJ.) Bradley will meet Thursday with the top Democrat and Republican leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of their inquiry into the Sept. 2 strikes. (Bloomberg.) Michael Waldman argued that Congress should create a select committee to investigate potential abuses of the president’s war powers. (NYT.)
Dec. 2 - White House Press Secretary Karoline Levitt stated on Monday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized Adm. Frank M. Bradley to conduct the Sept. 2 strikes on the boat allegedly carrying drug traffickers. She added that Bradley “worked well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.” One military official told the Post that the statement “left it up to interpretation” who was responsible for the second strike. (WaPo.) The New York Times reports, per sources, that Hegseth ordered the Sept. 2 strike to kill the people on the boat and destroy its cargo, but gave no direction on what should happen if the initial missile did not fully achieve those objectives. (NYT.)
Dec. 1 - Members of the armed services committees in the House and Senate announced that they will open bipartisan inquiries following reporting from the Washington Post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered forces to kill all occupants of a suspected drug-running boat in the Caribbean on Sept. 2, allegedly resulting in a follow-on strike against two survivors. (WSJ.) (WaPo.) President Trump said Sunday he is confident that Hegseth did not give such an order. (WaPo.)
Nov. 14 - The U.S. military on Wednesday killed another four people accused by the Trump administration of trafficking drugs by sea, bringing the strike count to 20 and the death toll to 80 people. (NYT.)
Nov. 3 - Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Saturday that the U.S. military had conducted another lethal strike on an alleged drug vessel in the Caribbean Sea. (NYT.)
Oct. 21 - Representative Adam Smith called on the House Armed Services committee to hold a hearing on the Department of Defense’s strikes on the boats of alleged drug traffickers in the Caribbean. (NYT.)
Oct. 20 - The U.S. military on Friday killed three men aboard a boat in the Caribbean Sea suspected of smuggling drugs, marking the seventh lethal military strike carried out by the Trump administration against an alleged drug trafficking boat. (NYT.) Meanwhile, President Trump announced on Truth Social that his administration was repatriating two survivors of a drug boat strike “for detention and prosecution.” (NYT.)
Oct. 15 - President Trump announced on Truth Social on Tuesday that the military conducted another strike on a boat suspected of drug-trafficking off the coast of Venezuela, killing six people. (NYT.)
Oct. 9 - A Senate war powers resolution to end further military strikes against alleged cartel members in the Caribbean Sea failed by a vote of 51-48. (NYT.)
Oct. 6 - The Trump administration conducted another lethal strike on an alleged drug vessel near the coast of Venezuela on Friday. (WaPo.)
Oct. 3 - President Trump on Thursday sent a confidential notice to several Congressional committees declaring that the U.S. is in an “armed conflict” with drug cartels designated as terrorist groups and justifying his administration’s recent strikes on Venezuelan drug smuggling vessels as targeting “unlawful combatants.” (NYT.)

Venezuela operations

Jan. 14 - The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel on Tuesday published a redacted 22-page opinion, dated December 23, 2025, offering legal justifications for America’s military operation in Venezuela. (Memorandum.) (WSJ.)
Jan. 9 - In a two-hour interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, President Trump said he expected America would be running Venezuela for years and declared his power as commander in chief is only constrained by his “own morality.” (NYT.)
Jan. 9 - Five Senate Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday to advance a vote on a war powers resolution that would force President Trump to seek Congressional authorization to continue the use of U.S. forces in Venezuela. (NYT.)
Jan. 8 - Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced Wednesday at a Goldman Sachs energy industry conference that the U.S. intends to control Venezuelan oil sales “indefinitely.” (WaPo.) (WSJ.) Trump spoke to American oil companies about U.S. intervention in Venezuela before the U.S. military operation in the Latin American country. (ABC News.)
Jan. 7 - The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has reportedly produced a legal opinion justifying the Trump administration’s military operation in Venezuela. According to The New York Times, the memo relies on President Trump’s determination that the U.S. is in an armed conflict with drug cartels and gangs designated as terrorists. (NYT.)
Jan. 6 - The Trump administration briefed senior congressional leaders on the Venezuela operation in a two-hour closed-door session on Monday, after which House Speaker Mike Johnson stated, “We don’t expect troops on the ground.” (Politico.) Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin released a statement criticizing the Judiciary Committee’s exclusion from the briefing. (Press Release.)
Jan. 5 - After the Trump administration conducted a military raid in Venezuela to arrest its president, President Trump declared on Saturday that the United States plans to “run” Venezuela, a country of 30 million people, for an unspecified period of time. (NYT.) Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to walk back the president’s remarks during a televised interview on Sunday morning in which he stressed U.S. pressure on the Venezuelan government and stated, “it’s not running — it’s running policy.” Later that day, Trump asserted that the United States was “in charge” of the country. (NYT.)
Jan. 5 - As of Sunday evening, top Democratic lawmakers had yet to be briefed by the administration on its military action in Venezuela. (NYT.)
Jan. 5 - Congressional Democrats alleged that Secretary Rubio intentionally misled lawmakers in November by reassuring them that the administration did not intend to pursue regime change in Venezuela and telling them that the United States lacked the legal authority to invade the South American country and oust its president. Rubio denied the allegations, stating that the operation was not an invasion, but a “law enforcement operation.” (WaPo.)
Jan. 5 - While the Trump administration cited drug trafficking and gang activity as justification for its capture of Maduro, American access to Venezuelan oil was a driving factor in the president’s decision to authorize the military operation. (NYT.)
Dec. 31 - President Trump said in a radio interview on Friday that the U.S. struck “a big plant or a big facility where the [alleged drug trafficking] ships come from” in Venezuela. (NYT.) The New York Times later reported that “people briefed on the operation” say the attack was a drone strike conducted by the C.I.A. on a port facility, and it is the first known U.S. operation inside Venezuela since the beginning of the boat strikes. (NYT.)
Dec. 22 - The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday attempted to seize the Bella 1, a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela, which did not submit to being boarded and continued traveling northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. The Coast Guard successfully boarded another tanker, the Centuries, earlier that day. (NYT.)
Dec. 18 - The House on Wednesday rejected two resolutions that would require the president to gain congressional authorization before engaging in hostilities “within or against Venezuela” or striking more vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific. (NYT.)
Dec. 17 - President Trump on Tuesday ordered “A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.” (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
Dec. 15 - Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui (D.D.C.) on Friday granted the government’s motion to partially unseal redacted copies of its application for a seizure warrant, the affidavit in support, and the warrant to seize the Skipper, a sanctioned oil tanker stopped off the coast of Venezuela. (Order.)
Dec. 12 - The Washington Post, per three anonymous sources, reported that the United States will likely begin seizing more oil tankers off the coast of Venezuela. (WaPo.)
Dec. 11 - President Trump announced on Wednesday that the United States had seized “a very large tanker” off the coast of Venezuela, which sources told the Times had been carrying Venezuelan oil. (NYT.)
Dec. 1 - President Trump on Saturday declared that airspace above and surrounding Venezuela should be considered “CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.” (Truth Social.) (NYT.)
Nov. 19 - The New York Times, citing people briefed on the matter, reports that “President Trump has approved additional measures to pressure Venezuela and prepare for the possibility of a broader military campaign,” including signing off on possible C.I.A. plans for covert operations in the country and reopening back-channel negotiations with President Nicolás Maduro’s government. (NYT.)
Nov. 12 - The U.S. Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, entered the U.S. Southern Command’s jurisdiction to support operations in the Caribbean. (NYT.) In response, Venezuela’s defense minister said that the government would place “the entire country’s military arsenal on full operational readiness.” (WaPo.)
Nov. 7 - The Senate on Thursday rejected a measure to block military action by the Trump administration in Venezuelan territory without congressional authorization. The resolution failed by a 51-49 vote, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in supporting the measure. (WSJ.)
Nov. 6 - According to the Wall Street Journal, President Trump has expressed reservations about launching military action to topple Venezuelan President Maduro, and his administration remains undecided on its ultimate strategy in Venezuela. (WSJ.)
Oct. 31 - The Trump administration has identified potential targets for land strikes inside Venezuela, including ports and airports controlled by the military that are allegedly used to smuggle drugs. (WSJ.)
Oct. 20 - A bipartisan group of senators is preparing to force a vote on legislation that would prohibit the president from carrying out military action “within or against” Venezuela unless it was explicitly authorized by Congress. (NYT.)
Oct. 17 - At least two B-52 bombers from Louisiana on Wednesday flew for several hours off the Venezuelan coast in international air space. An elite Army Special Operations aviation unit has also been conducting flights near the coast of Venezuela (NYT.)
Oct. 16 - President Trump acknowledged on Wednesday that he authorized the C.I.A. to conduct covert actions in Venezuela. (NYT.)

Maduro Prosecution

Jan. 6 - Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on Monday pleaded not guilty to narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine-importation conspiracy, and weapons charges and claimed to be a “prisoner of war.” (NYT.) Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith discussed legal issues related to the U.S. invasion of Venezuela to capture Maduro and what legal issues to expect at his trial. (Executive Functions.) Andrew McCarthy argued that questions about the legality of the U.S. operation to capture Maduro, under both domestic and international law, are unlikely to be successful as defenses or as bases to dismiss the charges against him. (National Review.)
Jan. 5 - Ousted Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro is expected to appear Monday in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York to face charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. (Indictment.) (WaPo.) (NYT.)