Strikes
57
Killed
192
Archiv: US Southern Command (Southcom)
US launches military operations in Ecuador
After the operation to capture Maduro, Trump did not rule out using military force against targets in other countries in the name of combatting drug trafficking. The expectation, however, had been that Trump would conduct strikes in Mexico and Colombia, both of which have a more significant role in the drug trade.
Top US commander makes surprise visit to Venezuela after Maduro’s capture
The top US military commander for Latin America, General Francis Donovan, and senior Pentagon official Joseph Humire made an unannounced visit to Venezuela on Wednesday for security talks with interim authorities in Caracas. This marks the first US military delegation trip to Venezuela since the capture of the country‘s ousted leader Nicolas Maduro last month.
Interim President met with head of US Southern Command in Caracas
During the meeting, both countries agreed to work on designing a bilateral cooperation agenda to combat illicit drug trafficking in our region, terrorism, and migration.
US military says at least eight killed in new strikes on alleged drug boats, with survivors abandoning ship
On New Year’s Eve, US Southern Command said the military struck two boats “operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” killing five people.
The day before, Tuesday, the US struck what it described as a “convoy” of three boats participating in the trafficking of narcotics, SOUTHCOM announced in a post to X on Wednesday. Three people aboard one boat were killed, while those in the other two abandoned their vessel.
SOUTHCOM said it notified the US Coast Guard after Tuesday’s strike to activate search and rescue efforts. It’s unclear whether any survivors have been recovered.
Cooperative Security Locations
Caribbean CSL (Aruba-Curacao, The Netherlands Antilles)
The CSL is at two locations: Curaçao`s Hato International Airport and Aruba`s Reina Beatrix International Airport. The formal 10-year access agreement with the Kingdom of the Netherlands was signed in March 2000 and the Netherlands` parliament ratified the agreement in October 2001. Both CSL locations required minor construction improvements to include aircraft parking ramps, maintenance, and operations buildings. Counter-drug flights were made from these locations even as improvements were being made. To date, the Aruba CSL has seen limited improvement and use while the Curacao CSL has received all required improvements to include ramp space for two large, two medium, and six small aircraft, a fresh water rise facility, a maintenance hangar, and an operations building.
Aruba-Curacao provides effective, rapid response operations in the northern source zone, which includes the Guajira Peninsula of Colombia and the Venezuelan border region, as well as a large part of the transit zone. The U.S. Air Force handles day-to-day operations at the CSL.
„Outrageous“: JetBlue A320 Narrowly Avoids Mid-Air Collision With US Military Tanker Over Curaçao
To maintain a safe level of separation, the JetBlue aircraft halted its climb and leveled its altitude before eventually climbing again to cruising altitude. During communications between the aircraft and ATC, Curaçao‘s control center confirmed that the military tanker was not visible on their screens either.
With its transponder not switched on, the aircraft would also not have been visible to JetBlue‘s Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which relies on transponder signals from nearby aircraft to warn of potential collisions. While this near-miss occurred during daylight hours, the situation could have been a lot worse if it happened at night during minimal visibility.
JetBlue plane near Venezuela avoids ‘midair collision’ with US Air Force aircraft
A JetBlue flight from the small Caribbean nation of Curaçao halted its ascent to avoid colliding with a US Air Force refueling tanker on Friday, and the pilot blamed the military plane for crossing his path.
“We almost had a midair collision up here,” the JetBlue pilot said, according to a recording of his conversation with air traffic control. “They passed directly in our flight path. … They don’t have their transponder turned on, it’s outrageous.”
The incident involved JetBlue Flight 1112 from Curaçao, which is just off the coast of Venezuela, en route to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
Admiral ousted by Hegseth talks privately to lawmakers
(December 9, 2025)
Adm. Alvin Holsey, who was pushed out of his post as the top U.S. military commander overseeing operations in Latin America, spoke privately with several lawmakers on Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the meeting — an indication that Congress is quietly pursuing a bipartisan inquiry into the Sept. 2 boat strike in the Caribbean Sea.
(…)
Also on Tuesday, House and Senate leaders known as the „Gang of Eight“ are hearing separately from President Donald Trump‘s national security team: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Vice President: Venezuela must be prepared to defend its sovereignty
During the formation of the Bolivarian Base Committee in the Caracas parish of La Pastora, he declared that „those who want to hand over Venezuela, its natural resources, and fascist extremism are encountering the unyielding fist of the organized people. They will not succeed against us.“
Rodríguez emphasized that the US has decided to declare war on the entire planet, „and Venezuela must be prepared to defend our sovereignty. Who is going to come and give us orders from another country? Nobody, nobody gives us orders. The only one is the Venezuelan people, who are well organized.“
Venezuela raises military readiness as U.S. Carrier Group nears Caribbean
As the USS Gerald R. Ford streams into the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, bringing with it 4000 US sailors and dozens of tactical aircraft, Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro ordered its military operations be amped up within the coming hours to confront “imperial threats.”
A release from Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez earlier today announced that a higher phase of “Independencia 200” operations- the country’s national defence and mobilisation framework- will be in effect from 4.p.m. until tomorrow.
Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike group arrives in US Southcom, nearing the Caribbean
The largest and most advanced aircraft carrier in the world, the USS Gerald R. Ford has now arrived in the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) area of responsibility, closing a weeks long journey across the Atlantic ocean amid the US’ military buildup and ongoing boat strikes in Caribbean waters.
Top admiral’s retirement sets off alarm bells over Caribbean boat strikes
(October 19, 2025)
In a surprise move, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced that U.S. Southern Command (Southcom) head Adm. Alvin Holsey would step down at the end of the year, two years ahead of schedule. (…)
“Everything we’re seeing is setting off alarm bells,” said Brian Finucane, a national security lawyer with the International Crisis Group, an organization focused on conflict resolution. “The military buildup in the Caribbean, these lawless strikes on vessels there … the administration talking about potential action in Venezuela. None of this is being undertaken with congressional authorization.”
US is sending an aircraft carrier to Latin America in major escalation of military buildup
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to deploy to U.S. Southern Command to “bolster U.S. capacity to detect, monitor, and disrupt illicit actors and activities that compromise the safety and prosperity of the United States,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a social media post.
Re: Urgent Request for Access to and Information Regarding Immigrants Transferred from the United States and Detained at Guantánamo Bay
(February 7, 2025)
Dear Secretary Noem, Secretary Hegseth, and Secretary Rubio:
We write on behalf of the undersigned immigrants‘ rights and civil rights organizations to request immediate access to the noncitizens transferred from immigration detention facilities in the United States and currently detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Since February 4, 2025, the government has transferred nearly two dozen noncitizens to Guantánamo, without providing any information about their circumstances or the government’s legal authority for these unprecedented actions. The government has also announced that it is planning to send tens of thousands of additional immigration detainees to Guantánamo in the near future.
The Constitution, and federal and international law prohibit the government from using Guantánamo as a legal black hole. We therefore request that the government provide our organizations access to the noncitizens detained at Guantánamo so that those individuals will have access to legal counsel, and so advocates and the public can understand the conditions
under which the government is detaining them. We also request basic information that the public has a right to know regarding the noncitizens being sent to Guantánamo and the government’s plans for them.
(…)
Sincerely,
American Civil Liberties Union
Americans for Immigrant Justice
Amica Center
American Gateways
Center for Constitutional Rights
Haitian Bridge Alliance
Human Rights First
International Refugee Assistance Project
Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center
Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Texas Civil Rights Project
USA bereiten Entsendung von Militär in das Grenzgebiet von Panama und Kolumbien vor
(27.05.2023)
Als eine wahrscheinliche Option gilt inzwischen die Verlegung einer kleinen Anzahl von US-Truppen, die sich bereits in Kolumbien und Panama aufhalten, in den Darién-Streifen, um die einheimischen Streitkräfte zu beraten. In der Biden-Administration soll jedoch auch diskutiert werden, die Präsenz weiter auszubauen.
Kongress in Peru genehmigt Präsenz bewaffneter US-Truppen
Der sozialistische Politiker und frühere Außenminister des linken Präsidenten Pedro Castillo, Héctor Béjar, kritisierte das Gesetz scharf: „Es ist offensichtlich, dass die Anwesenheit dieser Soldaten der Abschreckung dient und Teil einer Politik ist, die darauf abzielt, die peruanische Bevölkerung zu terrorisieren, die für den kommenden Juli neue Proteste angekündigt hat.“ Er warnte zugleich, dass die Präsenz ausländischer Truppen Peru auch zu einer potenziellen Bedrohung für Nachbarländer mit fortschrittlichen Regierungen wie Bolivien und Kolumbien mache.
Colombia and the United States Strengthen Military Alliance
On Tuesday, the United States Ambassador to Colombia Philip Goldberg and United States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) Commander Faller Craig delivered two Hercules C-130 aircraft to President Ivan Duque‘s administration.
US Southern Command Chief Admits Plans Against Venezuela
On Monday, Faller commented at an online meeting organized by the business forum Council of the Americas that the international attempts to bring down Venezuela’s government have worked, although not quickly enough for the Venezuelan people.
The US, Colombia To Carry Out Military Drill in the Caribbean
On August 27, Colombia‘s President Ivan Duque authorized the presence of the U.S. Security Force Assistance Brigades (SFAB) in his country. Previously, however, the Cundinamarca Administrative Court ordered to suspend the activities of that foreign military unit.
With Focus on Venezuela, Robert O‘Brien Visits Colombia, Panama
Other political and military officials joined O‘Brien—who in September 2019 replaced John Bolton—on the U.S. government delegation, such as Craig Faller, head of the U.S. Southern Command; Mauricio Claver-Carone, Trump‘s nominee to the Inter-American Development Bank; and Phillip Goldberg, U.S. ambassador to Colombia.
US Navy Ship Sails Near Venezuelan Coast
According to SouthCom, the „peaceful“ operation took place „in international waters, outside the territorial jurisdiction of Venezuela, 12 nautical miles (about 22 kilometers) from that country.
„Krieg gegen Drogen“ : US-Militär im Einsatz in Kolumbien
Eine Spezialeinheit der US-Armee wird ab Anfang Juni in Kolumbien operieren.
US-Südkommando will Militärpräsenz in Lateinamerika verstärken
In der Praxis eröffnet der Vertrag für Brasilien den Zugang zum US-Rüstungsmarkt und ermöglicht gleichzeitig brasilianische Rüstungskäufe in den USA.
Pentagon testing mass surveillance balloons across the US
The FCC documents show that Southcom’s balloons are carrying small, satellite-like vehicles housing sophisticated sensors and communication gear. One of those sensors is a synthetic aperture radar intended to detect every car or boat in motion on a 25-mile swath beneath the balloon.
The balloons also have advanced mesh networking technologies that allow them to communicate with one another, share data and pass it to receivers on the ground below.
USA gestehen Verletzung des venezolanischen Luftraums ein
Das Spionage-Flugzeug bewegte sich laut venezolanischen Streitkräften unerlaubt und ohne sich bei der Flugsicherheitsbehörde zu identifizieren im Luftraum Venezuelas. Dies stellt eine Verletzung internationaler Luftfahrtverträge sowie der nationalen Souveränität Venezuelas dar.
SOUTHCOM Commander Visits Costa Rica to Strengthen Security Partnership
Faller visited Costa Rica July 24 – 26, where he met with leaders to discuss security cooperation