Which countries' naval forces led seizures of Venezuelan-flagged vessels in the Caribbean since 2010?
Executive summary
Since early September 2025 the United States carried out a series of strikes and seizures against vessels in the southern Caribbean that U.S. officials said were linked to drug trafficking and in some cases were Venezuelan-flagged; U.S. announcements and reporting attribute at least 20–22 strikes and more than 80 fatalities across operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific [1] [2] [3]. Available sources document the United States as the leading naval/military actor conducting these strikes and seizures; they do not name other countries’ navies as leading comparable operations against Venezuelan‑flagged vessels in the Caribbean since 2010 (available sources do not mention other countries leading such seizures).
1. The central fact: the US has been the principal actor
Reporting assembled by major outlets and international bodies identifies the United States military and Navy as the force that carried out repeated strikes and at least some seizures of vessels in the southern Caribbean in 2025, including the initial strike on 2 September and follow-up operations described by U.S. officials [3] [2]. Journalistic summaries state the U.S. has conducted roughly 20 strikes in the region and announced they targeted boats alleged to be ferrying drugs from Venezuela [1] [2].
2. What the sources say about Venezuelan-flagged vessels
BBC and UN reporting link specific struck or seized vessels to departures from Venezuelan ports or Venezuelan registration in the U.S. accounts and Venezuelan protests; one early strike reportedly hit a boat that departed Venezuela and was said by Caracas to have been seized beforehand [4] [5]. However, coverage highlights that the U.S. has released limited independent evidence tying individual boats definitively to the Venezuelan state or to organised criminal groups [6] [3].
3. Scale and consequences reported by multiple outlets
Multiple pieces describe an escalation: satellite tracking and military deployments of a U.S. carrier strike group in the Caribbean, at least 22 strikes in international waters across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, and cumulative official U.S. casualty figures exceeding 80 people killed as of early December 2025 [2] [3] [1]. The United Nations’ meetings coverage noted casualties from an early September strike and subsequent attacks, while also recording Venezuela’s diplomatic protests and mobilization of militia forces [5].
4. Legal and human‑rights debate in the reporting
Legal experts interviewed by the BBC and other outlets called at least some U.S. strikes potentially unlawful, describing the second strike on one vessel as possibly constituting extrajudicial killing under international law; U.S. officials framed the campaign as counter‑narcotics and, in some statements, as a response to a non‑international armed conflict with cartels [7] [8]. Sources document bipartisan and international concern over the legal basis and the level of evidence publicly shown [6] [7].
5. What reporting does not show — limits of the record
Available reporting in the provided sources does not document other nations’ naval forces leading seizures or strikes of Venezuelan‑flagged vessels in the Caribbean since 2010. There are references to regional cooperation on counter‑narcotics historically, but the current wave of lethal strikes and seizures described in these sources is attributed to U.S. military action (available sources do not mention other countries leading such seizures) [2] [1].
6. Competing narratives and potential agendas
U.S. officials present the operations as anti‑drug measures aimed at transnational traffickers and have tied some actions rhetorically to regime pressure on Caracas [8] [1]. Venezuela describes the attacks as aggression and “extrajudicial killings” aimed at provoking escalation, and several UN delegates called for de‑escalation [5] [4]. Independent journalists and legal analysts stress gaps in publicly released evidence and question whether the strikes comply with maritime and human‑rights law [6] [7].
7. What to watch next
Follow-up reporting and official releases are crucial: independent verification (ship tracking, open‑source imagery, forensic evidence), statements from other Caribbean governments, and any international investigations will determine whether the pattern of U.S. strikes continues to be a singularly U.S.-led phenomenon or draws in other states. Current sources record U.S. leadership of the 2025 operations but do not show other navies leading comparable seizures since 2010 [2] [3].
Limitations: this summary relies solely on the supplied articles and UN material; where those sources are silent about other countries’ involvement, I note that explicitly rather than infer absence.