Screenshot of video of the strike on a suspected Venezuelan narco boat White House
Crime & Piracy

FACTBOX | Tracking US strikes on drug running boats in Venezuelan waters

Reuters

The United States has acknowledged carrying out at least five strikes on vessels near Venezuela that it says were transporting drugs, killing at least 27 people.

A sixth strike targeted a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean on Thursday, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, who were rescued and are being held on a Navy ship, sources told Reuters on Friday.

The US has described some of the victims in the first five strikes as Venezuelans, while Colombian President Gustavo Petro has alleged some were from his country.

Venezuela's illegitimate government has said the strikes are, "illegal, amount to murder and are an aggression against the country."

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who has shored up his security powers and deployed tens of thousands of troops around the country, has also accused Donald Trump of seeking regime change, an allegation the US president has downplayed.

Here is a list of the strikes:

September 2 - The US military killed 11 people in a strike on a vessel from Venezuela allegedly carrying illegal narcotics, Trump said, in the first known operation since his administration deployed warships to the southern Caribbean.

September 15 - Trump said that the US military carried out a strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug cartel vessel heading to the United States. He said three men were killed in the strike, adding that it occurred in international waters.

September 19 - Trump said the United States attacked a vessel carrying drugs, killing three men.

October 3 - The United States killed four people in a strike against a vessel allegedly carrying illegal drugs just off the coast of Venezuela, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

October 14 - A US strike on a boat off the coast of Venezuela killed six suspected drug traffickers, Trump said.

October 16 - The US military carried out a strike against a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean, and in what is believed to be the first such case, there were survivors among the crew, a US official told Reuters.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols and Julia Symmes-Cobb; Editing by Alistair Bell)