WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 President Donald Trump has intensified his pressure campaign on Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, with the CIA carrying out a\u00a0drone strike\u00a0on Venezuelan soil and the military\u00a0seizing two tankers\u00a0carrying Venezuelan oil in international waters.
\nAll the while, the U.S. military continues to blow up alleged drug smuggling boats in South American waters. There have been 35 known strikes since early September that have killed at least 115 people, according to announcements from the Republican administration.
\nThe U.S. has sent\u00a0a fleet of warships\u00a0to the region, the largest buildup of forces in generations.
\nThe White House says the U.S. is in\u00a0\u201carmed conflict\u201d with drug cartels\u00a0to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States, while U.S. officials allege that Maduro supports the international drug trade. The authoritarian president faces charges of narco-terrorism in the U.S.
\nMaduro insists the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from power, while Trump\u2019s monthslong campaign is drawing\u00a0increasing scrutiny from members of Congress.
\nHere is a timeline of the U.S. military actions, concerns among some lawmakers and the response in Venezuela:
\nJan. 20
\nTrump\u00a0signs an executive order\u00a0that paves the way for criminal organizations and drug cartels to be named \u201cforeign terrorist organizations.\u201d They include Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang.
\nThe U.S. intelligence community has disputed\u00a0Trump\u2019s central claim that Maduro\u2019s administration is working with Tren de Aragua and orchestrating drug trafficking and illegal immigration into the U.S.
\nFeb. 20<\/p>\n
The Trump administration\u00a0formally designates\u00a0eight Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.
\nThe label is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State that use violence for political ends \u2014 not for profit-focused crime rings.
\nAug. 19
\nThe U.S. military\u00a0deploys three guided-missile destroyers\u00a0to the waters off Venezuela.
\nThe naval force in the Caribbean grows within weeks to include three amphibious assault ships and other vessels, carrying about 6,000 sailors and Marines and a variety of aircraft.
\nThe U.S. deploys F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September, while a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles operates off South America.
\nSept. 2
\nThe U.S.\u00a0carries out its first strike\u00a0against what Trump says was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0and was operated by Tren de Aragua.
\nTrump says all 11 people on the boat were killed and posts a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.
\nSept. 10
\nIn a letter to the White House, Democratic senators say the Trump administration has provided \u201cno legitimate legal justification\u201d for the strike.
\nSen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, says in a floor speech that week that the U.S. military is not \u201cempowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.\u201d
\nSept. 15
\nThe U.S. military\u00a0carries out its second strike\u00a0against an alleged drug boat, killing three people.
\nAsked what proof the U.S. has that the vessel was carrying drugs, Trump told reporters that big bags of cocaine and fentanyl were spattered all over the ocean. However, images of what Trump described were not released by the military or the White House.
\nSept. 19
\nTrump says the U.S. military carried out\u00a0its third fatal strike\u00a0against an alleged drug-smuggling vessel. Several senators and human rights groups continue\u00a0to question the legality\u00a0of the strikes, describing them as a potential overreach of executive authority.
\nOct. 2
\nTrump\u00a0declares drug cartels to be unlawful combatants\u00a0and says the U.S. is now in an \u201carmed conflict\u201d with them, according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press.
\nThe memo appears to represent an extraordinary\u00a0assertion of presidential war powers\u00a0and draws criticism from some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.
\nOct. 3<\/p>\n
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he ordered\u00a0a fourth strike on a small boat\u00a0he accuses of carrying drugs.
\nOct. 8
\nSenate Republicans\u00a0vote down legislation\u00a0that would have required the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes.
\nOct. 14
\nTrump announces the fifth strike\u00a0against a small boat accused of carrying drugs, saying it killed six people.
\nOct. 15
\nTrump confirms\u00a0he has authorized the CIA\u00a0to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and says he is weighing carrying out land operations in the country.
\nHe declines to say whether the CIA has authority to take action against\u00a0Maduro.
\nOct. 16
\nThe Navy admiral who oversees military operations in the region\u00a0says he will retire\u00a0in December.
\nAdm. 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 to four years.
\nOct. 16
\nTrump says the U.S. struck a sixth suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean,\u00a0killing two people and leaving two survivors\u00a0who were on the semi-submersible craft.
\nThe president later says the survivors would be\u00a0sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, \u201cfor detention and prosecution.\u201d Repatriation avoided questions about what their legal status would have been in the U.S. justice system.
\nOct. 17
\nThe U.S. military\u00a0attacks a seventh vessel\u00a0that Hegseth says was carrying \u201csubstantial amounts of narcotics\u201d and associated with a Colombian rebel group,\u00a0the National Liberation Army, or ELN. Three people are killed.
\nOct. 20
\nRep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, calls for a hearing on the boat strikes.
\n\u201cNever 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,\u201d Smith said in a statement of Holsey\u2019s impending departure. \u201cI 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.\u201d
\nOct. 21
\nHegseth says the U.S. military\u00a0launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in the eastern Pacific.
\nThe attack marks an expansion of the military\u2019s targeting area to the waters off South America where much of the cocaine from the world\u2019s largest producers is smuggled.
\nOct. 22
\nHegseth announces the ninth strike, another in the eastern Pacific, saying three men are killed.
\nOct. 24
\nHegseth orders the U.S. military\u2019s most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region in a significant escalation of\u00a0military firepower.
\nOct. 24
\nHegseth says the military\u00a0conducted the 10th strike\u00a0on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead.
\nOct. 27
\nHegseth says\u00a0three more strikes\u00a0were carried out in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.
\nHegseth says Mexican authorities \u201cassumed responsibility for coordinating the rescue\u201d of the sole survivor, who is presumed dead after Mexico suspended its search.
\nOct. 29
\nHegseth says the U.S. military\u00a0carried out another strike\u00a0on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing all four people aboard in the 14th attack.
\nOct. 29
\nSen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Trump administration\u00a0briefed Republicans\u00a0\u2014 but not Democrats \u2014 on the boat strikes.
\nThe Senate at the time was facing a potential vote on a war powers resolution that would prohibit strikes in or near Venezuela without congressional approval.
\nOct. 31
\nU.N. human rights chief Volker T\u00fcrk\u00a0calls for an investigation\u00a0into the strikes, in what appeared to be the first such condemnation of its kind from a United Nations organization.
\nRavina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for T\u00fcrk\u2019s office, relayed his message at a briefing: \u201cThe U.S. must halt such attacks and take all measures necessary to prevent the extrajudicial killing of people aboard these boats.\u201d
\nNov. 1
\nHegseth announces\u00a0the 15th known strike, saying three people were killed.
\nNov. 4
\nIn the\u00a016th known strike, Hegseth posts on social media that two people were killed aboard a vessel in the eastern Pacific.
\nNov. 6
\nHegseth announces the\u00a017th known strike, which killed three people.
\nSenate Republicans\u00a0vote to reject legislation\u00a0that would have limited Trump\u2019s ability to order an attack on Venezuelan soil without congressional authorization. Lawmakers from both parties had demanded\u00a0more information on the strikes, but Republicans appeared more willing to give Trump leeway to continue his\u00a0buildup of naval forces.
\nNov. 9
\nThe U.S. military\u00a0strikes two vessels\u00a0in the eastern Pacific, killing six people, according to an announcement from Hegseth the following day.
\nNov. 10
\nThe\u00a020th known strike\u00a0on a boat accused of transporting drugs kills four people in the Caribbean, according to a social media post from the U.S. military\u2019s Southern Command.
\nNov. 11
\nVenezuela\u2019s government\u00a0launches what it says is a \u201cmassive\u201d mobilization\u00a0of troops and volunteers for two days of exercises prompted by the U.S. military buildup.
\nDefense Minister Vladimir Padrino L\u00f3pez asserts that Venezuela\u2019s military is \u201cstronger than ever in its unity, morale and equipment.\u201d
\nNov. 15
\nThree people are killed\u00a0after the U.S. military conducts its 21st strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, according to a post from Southern Command a day later.
\nNov. 16
\nThe Ford\u00a0arrives in the Caribbean, a major moment in the Trump administration\u2019s show of force.
\nThe aircraft carrier\u2019s arrival brings the total number of troops in the region to around 12,000 on nearly a dozen Navy ships in what Hegseth has dubbed \u201cOperation Southern Spear.\u201d
\nNov. 16
\nTrump says the U.S. \u201c\u00a0may be having some discussions\u00a0\u201d with Maduro and \u201cVenezuela would like to talk,\u201d without offering details.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll talk to anybody,\u201d Trump said. \u201cWe\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d
\nDec. 4
\nAdm. Frank \u201cMitch\u201d Bradley appears for closed-door classified briefings at the Capitol as lawmakers begin\u00a0investigating\u00a0the strikes. The investigation began following reports that Bradley ordered a follow-on attack that killed the survivors of the first strike on Sept. 2 to comply with Hegseth\u2019s demands.
\nRepublican Sen. Tom Cotton later tells reporters that \u201cBradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all.\u201d
\nDemocrats say they found the video of the entire attack disturbing.
\nWashington Rep. Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, says the survivors were \u201cbasically two shirtless people clinging to the bow of a capsized and inoperable boat, drifting in the water \u2014 until the missiles come and kill them.\u201d
\nDec. 4
\nFour people are killed in\u00a0the 22nd strike\u00a0on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, according to a post from Southern Command.
\nDec. 10
\nThe U.S.\u00a0seizes an oil tanker\u00a0off the coast of Venezuela after the ship left that country with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude.
\nAttorney General Pam Bondi says the tanker was involved in \u201can illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.\u201d Venezuela\u2019s government says the seizure \u201cconstitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.\u201d
\nDec. 15
\nThe U.S. military strikes three alleged drug-smuggling boats,\u00a0killing eight people, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Southern Command announces.
\nDec. 16
\nHegseth says the Pentagon\u00a0will not publicly release unedited video\u00a0of the Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors, even as questions mount in Congress about the attack and the overall campaign near Venezuela.
\nDec. 16
\nTrump says he\u2019s\u00a0ordering a blockade\u00a0of all \u201csanctioned oil tankers\u201d going into and out of Venezuela, a move that seems designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country\u2019s oil-dependent economy.
\nTrump alleges that Venezuela is using oil to fund drug trafficking, terrorism and other crimes and vows to continue the military buildup until the country returns to the U.S. oil, land and assets, though it\u2019s unclear why the president feels the U.S. has a claim.
\nDec. 17
\nThe U.S. military says it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean,\u00a0killing four people.
\nHouse Republicans\u00a0rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions\u00a0that would have put a check on Trump\u2019s power to use military force against drug cartels and Venezuela. They were the first votes in the House after Senate Republicans\u00a0previously voted down similar war powers resolutions.
\nDec. 18
\nThe U.S. military says it conducted two more strikes against boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific,\u00a0killing five people.
\nDec. 20
\nHomeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says the U.S. Coast Guard, with help from the Defense Department, stopped a second oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
\nDec. 22
\nTrump confirms that the U.S. Coast Guard is chasing another oil tanker that the administration describes as part of the \u201cdark fleet.\u201d
\nThe U.S. military says it\u00a0attacked a boat\u00a0accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people.
\nDec. 29
\nTrump tells reporters the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs \u201cload up.\u201d He declines to say if the U.S. military or the CIA carried out the strike on the dock or where it occurred. He does not confirm it happened in Venezuela.
\nThe U.S. military says it\u00a0attacked a boat\u00a0accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing two people.
\nDec. 30
\nThe CIA was behind\u00a0the drone strike\u00a0at a docking area believed to have been used by Venezuelan drug cartels,\u00a0according to two people familiar with details\u00a0of the classified operation who requested anonymity to discuss it.
\nIt is the first known direct operation on Venezuelan soil since the U.S. began strikes in September. Venezuelan officials have not acknowledged the strike.
\nDec. 30
\nThe U.S. military\u00a0strikes three more boats\u00a0that were allegedly smuggling drugs, killing three people in the first boat while people from the other two boats jumped overboard and may have survived, U.S. Southern Command announces the following day.
\nDec. 31
\nThe U.S.\u00a0imposes sanctions on four firms\u00a0operating in Venezuela\u2019s oil sector and designates four additional oil tankers as blocked property and part of the larger shadow fleet that is evading U.S. sanctions on Venezuela.
\nDec. 31
\nThe U.S. military says it attacked two more boats, killing five people who were allegedly smuggling drugs along known trafficking routes.
\n___
\nGarcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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