A timeline of the US military's buildup near Venezuela and attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump ordered a blockade of ''sanctioned oil tankers'' into and out of Venezuela, U.S. forces seized an oil tanker off the country's coast and the military attacked three more alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region — all in the course of a week.

The Trump administration says it is in ''armed conflict'' with drug cartels to halt the flow of narcotics into the United States and its actions are ramping up pressure on Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who faces charges of narcoterrorism in the U.S. Trump's monthslong campaign, meanwhile, is drawing increasing scrutiny from members of Congress.

The U.S. has sent a fleet of warships to the region, the largest buildup of forces in generations, and Trump has stated repeatedly that land attacks are coming soon. Maduro has insisted the real purpose of the U.S. military operations is to force him from power.

Trump's Republican administration says the military has carried out 29 known strikes in the Caribbean Sea and the eastern Pacific Ocean since early September, killing at least 105 people.

Here is a timeline of the U.S. military actions, concerns among some lawmakers and the response in Venezuela:

Jan. 20

Trump signs an executive order that paves the way for criminal organizations and drug cartels to be named ''foreign terrorist organizations.'' They include Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan street gang.

Feb. 20

The Trump administration formally designates eight Latin American crime organizations as foreign terrorist organizations.

The label is normally reserved for groups like al-Qaida or the Islamic State that use violence for political ends — not for profit-focused crime rings.

Aug. 19

The U.S. military deploys three guided-missile destroyers to the waters off Venezuela.

The U.S. deploys F-35 fighter jets to Puerto Rico in September, while a Navy submarine carrying cruise missiles operates off South America.

Sept. 2

The U.S. carries out its first strike against what Trump says was a drug-carrying vessel that departed from Venezuela and was operated by Tren de Aragua.

Trump says all 11 people on the boat were killed and posts a short video clip of a small vessel appearing to explode in flames.

Sept. 10

Sen. 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 ''empowered to hunt down suspected criminals and kill them without trial.''

Sept. 15

The U.S. military carries out its second strike against an alleged drug boat, killing three people.

Asked 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.

Sept. 19

Several senators and human rights groups continue to question the legality of the strikes, describing them as a potential overreach of executive authority.

Oct. 2

Trump declares drug cartels to be unlawful combatants and says the U.S. is now in an ''armed conflict'' with them, according to a Trump administration memo obtained by The Associated Press.

The memo appears to represent an extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers and draws criticism from some lawmakers, including Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Oct. 3

Oct. 8

Senate Republicans vote down legislation that would have required the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes. The vote fell mostly along party lines, 48-51.

Oct. 14

Trump announces the fifth strike against a small boat accused of carrying drugs, saying it killed six people. The president says intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics on a known drug-trafficking route.

Oct. 15

He declines to say whether the CIA has authority to take action against Maduro.

Oct. 16

The Navy admiral who oversees military operations in the region says he will retire in December.

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 to four years.

Oct. 16

The president later says the survivors would be sent to Ecuador and Colombia, their home countries, ''for detention and prosecution.'' Repatriation avoided questions about what their legal status would have been in the U.S. justice system.

Oct. 17

The U.S. military attacks a seventh vessel that Hegseth says was carrying ''substantial amounts of narcotics'' and associated with a Colombian rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN. Three people are killed.

Oct. 20

Rep. Adam Smith, top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, calls for a hearing on the boat strikes.

Oct. 21

Hegseth says the U.S. military launched its eighth strike against an alleged drug-carrying vessel, killing two people in the eastern Pacific.

The attack marks 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.

Oct. 22

Hegseth announces the ninth strike, another in the eastern Pacific, saying three men are killed.

Hegseth orders the U.S. military's most advanced aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region in a significant escalation of military firepower.

Oct. 24

Hegseth says the military conducted the 10th strike on a suspected drug-running boat, leaving six people dead. He says the vessel was operated by the Tren de Aragua gang.

Oct. 27

Hegseth says three more strikes were carried out in the eastern Pacific, killing 14 people and leaving one survivor.

Oct. 29

Hegseth says the U.S. military carried out another strike on a boat he said was carrying drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing all four people aboard in the 14th attack.

Oct. 29

Sen. Mark Warner, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, says the Trump administration briefed Republicans — but not Democrats — on the boat strikes.

The 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.

U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk calls for an investigation into the strikes, in what appeared to be the first such condemnation of its kind from a United Nations organization.

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.''

Nov. 1

Hegseth posts another video as he announces the 15th known strike, saying the vessel in the Caribbean was operated by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization. He does not name the group and says three people were killed.

Nov. 4

The same day, the Ford aircraft carrier leaves the Mediterranean Sea on its way to the Caribbean.

Nov. 6

Hegseth announces the 17th known strike, which killed three people.

Senate Republicans vote to reject legislation that would have limited Trump's ability to order an attack on Venezuelan soil without congressional authorization. Lawmakers from both parties had demanded more information on the strikes, but Republicans appeared more willing to give Trump leeway to continue his buildup of naval forces.

Nov. 9

Nov. 10

The 20th known strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs kills four people in the Caribbean, according to a social media post from the U.S. military's Southern Command.

Nov. 11

Venezuela's government launches what it says is a ''massive'' mobilization of troops and volunteers for two days of exercises prompted by the U.S. military buildup.

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López asserts that Venezuela's military is ''stronger than ever in its unity, morale and equipment.''

Three people are killed after 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.

Nov. 16

The Ford arrives in the Caribbean, a major moment in the Trump administration's show of force.

The aircraft carrier's 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 ''Operation Southern Spear.''

Nov. 16

''I'll talk to anybody,'' Trump said. ''We'll see what happens.''

Dec. 4

Adm. Frank ''Mitch'' Bradley appears for closed-door classified briefings at the Capitol as lawmakers begin investigating the 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 Hegesth's demands.

Republican Sen. Tom Cotton later tells reporters that ''Bradley was very clear that he was given no such order, to give no quarter or to kill them all."

Democrats say they found the video of the entire attack disturbing.

Dec. 4

Four people are killed in the 22nd strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat in the eastern Pacific, according to a post from Southern Command.

Dec. 10

The U.S. seizes an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela after leaving that country with about 2 million barrels of heavy crude.

Attorney General Pam Bondi says the tanker was involved in ''an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.'' Venezuela's government says the seizure ''constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy.''

The U.S. military strikes three alleged-drug smuggling boats, killing eight people, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, Southern Command announce.

Dec. 16

Hegseth says the Pentagon will not publicly release unedited video of the Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors, even as questions mount in Congress about the attack and the overall campaign near Venezuela.

Dec. 16

Trump says he's ordering a blockade of all ''sanctioned oil tankers'' going into and out of Venezuela, a move that seems designed to put a tighter chokehold on the South American country's oil-dependent economy.

Dec. 17

The U.S. military says it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people.

House Republicans rejected a pair of Democratic-backed resolutions that would have put a check on Trump's power to use military force against drug cartels and Venezuela. They were the first votes in the House after Senate Republicans previously voted down similar war powers resolutions.

Dec. 18

The U.S. military says it conducted two more strikes against boats that were allegedly smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific, killing five people.

Homeland 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.

Dec. 22

Trump confirms that the U.S. Coast Guard is chasing another oil tanker that the administration describes as part of a ''dark fleet'' Venezuela is using to evade U.S. sanctions. Trump says of Maduro, ''If he wants to do something, if he plays tough, it'll be the last time he'll ever be able to play tough.''

The U.S. military says it attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing four people. The death toll from the campaign's 29 known strikes climbs to at least 105 people.

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