By News Americas Staff Writer
News Americas, November 7, 2025: The US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans has now killed at least 70 people, according to U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who confirmed another deadly strike Thursday that destroyed a small vessel and killed three people off the coast of Icacos Point, Trinidad and Tobago.
The latest strike – the 18th since the campaign began in early September – reportedly targeted what the Pentagon described as a “vessel operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization.” Aerial footage shared by Hegseth on X (formerly Twitter) showed the small boat traveling through calm waters before being hit and engulfed in flames.
While Washington insists the strikes are part of a campaign against drug trafficking networks linked to Venezuela, critics and international observers have condemned the actions as extrajudicial killings, noting that no conclusive evidence has been made public showing the destroyed boats were smuggling narcotics or posed any threat to U.S. interests.
Regional Fallout And Civilian Fear
Local fishermen in southern Trinidad say that they are now fearful to go to sea, with some altering their routes to avoid being mistaken for suspected “narco boats.” Icacos Point, the southernmost tip of Trinidad, lies just three miles from Venezuela’s coastline, an area known for both fishing and migrant crossings.
“The sea is our livelihood, but now it feels like a war zone,” said one fisherman who asked not to be named. “No one knows who’s next.”
Caribbean Leaders Call For Calm
Amid rising concern, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne this week renewed his call for the Caribbean to remain a “zone of peace.” Speaking at the launch of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, (CHOGM), set for next year, Browne warned that escalating U.S. military operations in regional waters could destabilize the Caribbean.
“If this military buildup results in any form of conflict, the small island states of the OECS will suffer disproportionately,” Browne cautioned, emphasizing the region’s vulnerability and economic dependence.
U.S. Congress Divided Over Strikes
In Washington, Senate Democrats attempted to pass a war powers resolution that would have curbed President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct further strikes without congressional approval – but the measure was blocked by Senate Republicans in a largely party-line vote.
Sen. Tim Kaine, (D-Va.), backed by Adam Schiff, (D-Calif.) and Rand Paul, (R-Ky.), led the push, arguing that the administration’s actions amount to undeclared warfare. Only a few Republicans – including Sen. Lisa Murkowski, (R-Alaska) – broke ranks to support the measure.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth briefed select lawmakers earlier this week, defending the campaign as part of a broader effort to “combat terrorism and narcotics linked to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua cartel.”
Trump, in a recent television interview, acknowledged authorizing CIA operations in the region and claimed Venezuela had “emptied their prisons into the United States.”
“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela,” Trump said. “So, we’re going to stop them by land and by sea.”
International Condemnation Mounts
The United Nations has called on Washington to immediately halt the strikes. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said the killings “find no justification in international law,” urging restraint and independent investigations.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro accused the U.S. of attempting regime change under the guise of counter-narcotics operations. Maduro, who faces U.S. drug trafficking indictments and a $50 million bounty, denied that Venezuela cultivates or exports narcotics, saying his country is being “used as a route against its will.”
An Escalating Military Footprint
The Trump administration has reportedly deployed six Navy ships in the Caribbean, F-35 stealth jets to Puerto Rico, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to regional waters. U.S. bombers have also conducted several “shows of force” near Venezuela’s coast since mid-October.
With regional unease mounting and questions over legality growing louder, observers warn that Washington’s campaign risks militarizing the Caribbean – a region long regarded as a “zone of peace” and trade, not conflict.