The U.S. has conducted nine strikes in international waters since September, killing at least 37 people.
The majority of the strikes have been near Venezuela, with authorities saying they are targeting drug traffickers.
In a post to X on Thursday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the strikes would continue until the “threat” of drug trafficking is “extinguished.”
Venezuelan authorities have condemned the U.S’ actions in the region, calling them “hostile”.
Background
Since his re-election, U.S. President Donald Trump has accused Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro of involvement with the gang Tren de Aragua, which he has declared a terrorist organisation.
Last week, the U.S. President said he had authorised the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to conduct covert operations in Venezuela.
In a statement in response, Venezuelan authorities said this suggested the U.S. was seeking to overthrow the current government.
Caribbean strikes
Since the beginning of September, the U.S. has struck multiple boats near Venezuela’s coast, killing at least 32 people in the Caribbean Sea.
The U.S. alleged these boats were being used to traffic drugs.
It has also sent thousands of troops to the region.
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Pacific strikes
Earlier this week, the U.S. carried out strikes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time during this crackdown, killing five people.
Hegseth alleged the vessels the U.S. hit were “involved in illicit narcotics smuggling”.
He labelled drug trafficking organisations as “the ‘Al Qaeda’ of our hemisphere” and said they “will not escape justice.”
Venezuela response
Following strikes last month, Maduro told a press conference: “The communications with the Government of the U.S. have been thrown away, they have been thrown away by them with their threats of bombs, death and blackmail”.
The Venezuelan Government has since said Trump’s use of the CIA and military actions in the Caribbean Sea “constitute[s] a policy of aggression, threats, and harassment against Venezuela.”
Political response
Democrats have also criticised the strikes, with Representative Adam Smith saying the Trump administration has “failed to demonstrate the legality of these strikes [or] provide transparency on the process used”.
Smith also called on Trump to release “a list of cartels that have been designated as terrorist organisations.”
Trump needs Congress’ approval to go to war, but not for individual strikes.
