2025 United States naval deployment in the Caribbean

In late August 2025, the United States began **a major naval and air deployment in the Caribbean Sea**. The U.S. government said the operation was aimed at fighting drug trafficking, but many observers believe it was also meant to pressure the government of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The operation, led by Admiral Alvin Holsey, involves the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Air Force, and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). As of November 2, 2025, reports said that 41 civilians had died in incidents related to the deployment.

## Background 
The U.S. military has been involved in anti-drug operations in the Caribbean since the late 1980s. Under President George H. W. Bush, the United States created a Caribbean counternarcotics task force in 1989 that used military aircraft and ships to help detect and intercept drug traffickers.

## Preliminary actions 
In January 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14157. This order told the U.S. State Department to label several Western Hemisphere drug cartels as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

A month later, in February, the U.S. officially listed several groups as terrorist organizations. These included the Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua, the Central American gang MS-13, and six major Mexico-based cartels. In July, the U.S. also labeled the Cartel de los Soles (or Cartel of the Suns) as a terrorist organization. The U.S. alleges this group is tied to Venezuela’s political and military leadership.

Around the same time, the Trump administration accused President Maduro himself of trafficking drugs into the United States and offered a $50 million reward for his arrest. In August 2025, the U.S. began sending warships and personnel to the southern Caribbean, saying the purpose was to combat drug cartels operating in the region.

## Initial deployment and airstrikes 
On September 2, 2025, the United States launched an airstrike that sank a vessel traveling from Venezuela. U.S. officials said the ship was linked to the Tren de Aragua gang. Eleven people were killed. This was the first U.S. airstrike publicly confirmed in Central or South America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

By September 25, the U.S. deployment had grown to include ten ships. Among them were the guided-missile destroyers USS Gravely, USS Stockdale, and USS Jason Dunham; the amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima; the amphibious transport docks USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale; the guided-missile cruiser USS Lake Erie; the littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul; the nuclear attack submarine USS Newport News; and the special operations support ship MV Ocean Trader.

Venezuela responded by sending fighter jets on patrol and mobilizing large numbers of militia forces near its borders.

## Declaration of armed conflict and escalation 
On October 1, 2025, President Trump formally notified the U.S. Congress that the United States was engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” in the Caribbean against “unlawful combatants.” These combatants were described as members of drug cartels and armed criminal organizations.

By October 28, the number of U.S. troops stationed in the southern Caribbean and Puerto Rico reached roughly 10,000. While most analysts said a full invasion of Venezuela was unlikely, U.S. forces had identified possible land targets inside Venezuela, including ports and airstrips said to be used for drug trafficking.

## Reactions 
### Venezuela 
President Nicolás Maduro responded angrily to the U.S. buildup. On August 18, he said the United States had “gone mad” and promised to mobilize what he claimed were 4.5 million militia members to defend Venezuela’s borders. After the September 2 strike, Maduro accused the U.S. of trying to seize Venezuela’s oil wealth and called the deployment “the greatest threat to our continent in 100 years.”

### Latin America and the Caribbean 
Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that any U.S. attack on Venezuela would be seen as an attack on Latin America as a whole. He also called for a “criminal process” against Donald Trump for authorizing the airstrikes.

The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held an emergency virtual meeting and released a statement expressing “deep concern” about foreign military intervention in the region.

## Analysis 
### Goals 
Analysts say one U.S. goal is to cut off drug-money flows that help finance Venezuela’s security forces. Another possible goal, according to some experts, is to increase political pressure on the Maduro government and potentially support opposition movements inside Venezuela.

### Legal questions 
Some international law experts believe the September 2 airstrike and other U.S. actions could violate maritime law and international human rights law. Critics have also questioned whether the Trump administration complied with the U.S. War Powers Resolution and international rules that govern when a country can legally use force.

## References