On Saturday, the U.S. conducted a “large-scale strike” against Venezuela and said that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had been captured and flown out of the country. Trump announced the operation on social media hours after the attack. The Venezuelan government called it an “imperialist attack” and urged citizens to take to the streets.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said Maduro and Flores, would face charges after an indictment in New York.
Before the escalation, there had been 35 known strikes against alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters since early September that killed at least 115 people, according to announcements from the Republican administration.
Here is a timeline of the U.S. military actions and related developments:
The label is normally reserved for groups such as a-Qaida or the Islamic State that use violence for political ends, and not for profit-focused crime rings.
The naval force in the Caribbean grew within weeks to include three amphibious assault ships and other vessels, carrying about 6,000 sailors and Marines and a variety of aircraft.
The U.S. sent F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September, while a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles operated off South America.
Trump said all 11 people on the boat were killed. He posted a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.
Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the U.S. military was not “empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.”
Asked what proof the U.S. had that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump told reporters that big bags of cocaine and fentanyl were spattered all over the ocean. Images of what Trump described were not released by the military or the White House.
Adm. Alvin Holsey became leader of U.S. Southern Command only the previous November, overseeing an area that encompasses the Caribbean and waters off South America. Such postings typically last three years to four years.
Washington Rep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, called for a hearing on the boat strikes.
“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,” Smith said in a statement of Holsey’s impending departure. “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.”
The attack was an expansion of the military’s targeting area to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world’s largest producers is smuggled.
Hegseth announced the ninth strike, another in the eastern Pacific, saying three men are killed.
Hegseth said Mexican authorities “assumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue” of the sole survivor, who was presumed dead after Mexico suspended its search.
The Senate at the time was facing a potential vote on a war powers resolution that would have prohibited strikes in or near Venezuela without congressional approval.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for Türk’s office, relayed his message at a briefing: “The U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.”
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López asserted that Venezuela’s military was “stronger than ever in its unity, morale and equipment.”
The aircraft carrier’s arrival brought the total number of troops in the region to around 12,000 on nearly a dozen Navy ships in what Hegseth said was “Operation Southern Spear.”
“I’ll talk to anybody,” Trump said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., later told reporters that “Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all.”
Democrats said they found the video of the entire attack disturbing.
Smith said the survivors were “basically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water — until the missiles come and kill them.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the tanker was involved in “an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.” Venezuela’s government said the seizure was “a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”
Trump alleged that Venezuela was using oil to fund drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes. He pledged to continue the military buildup until Venezuela returned to the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it was unclear why Trump felt the U.S. had a claim.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. Coast Guard, with help from the Defense Department, stopped a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Trump confirmed that the U.S. Coast Guard was chasing another oil tanker that the administration described as part of the “dark fleet.”
Trump told reporters that the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs “load up.” He declined to say whether the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the strike on the dock or where it occurred. He did not confirm it happened in Venezuela.
It was the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September. Venezuelan officials have not acknowledged the strike.
The U.S. military said it attacked two more boats, killing five people who were allegedly smuggling drugs along known trafficking routes.
The U.S. conducted a “large-scale strike” across Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, captured Maduro and Flores and flew them out of the country. Maduro and Flores would face charges after an indictment in New York, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Maduro was indicted in 2020 on “narco-terrorism” conspiracy charges, but it was not previously known that Flores had been.
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Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.
