Since September 2, 2025, the US military has carried out at least 70 strikes on civilian vessels in the Caribbean Basin and the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Posted by Behind the Bastards, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support3 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 88%
Behind the BastardsOct 3, 2026
Multiple sources show the U.S. had carried out about 70 or more boat strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific by early October 2026, which matches the claim's 'at least 70' as of the post date.
What was said
… writer, and I'll be your host for today's episode, which is about the ongoing campaign of boat strikes by the US military that have turned the oceans around the Americas into killing fields. To give a high level overview of what I'll be talking about today, since September 2, 2025, up until the time of recording, the US military has carried out at least 70 strikes on civilian vessels in the Caribbean Basin and the eastern Pacific Ocean. At least 234 people have been killed by these strikes, according to reporting from The New York Times. Per Air wars, there have been survivors almost every month of the campaign, but only three out of the 28 total have ever been rescued. …
Behind the Bastards · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. An AP report dated October 6, 2026 says the latest strike brought the total to at least 235 killed in 70 strikes since September 2025.[2]
Supports. Commondreams reports on October 5, 2026 that SOUTHCOM announced its 71st confirmed boat strike, killing four people, on October 4.[3]
Supports. Military Times' running list, updated as of October 27, 2026, counts 72 disclosed strikes, and an AP report from the same week says 'more than 70 strikes.'[4][5]
Supports. Britannica describes the strikes as lethal attacks on small civilian boats in Venezuelan and nearby waters, supporting the 'civilian vessels' wording.[6]
Context. Airwars' late-August 2026 figure of 69 boats and Reuters' November 2025 figure of 14 strikes are earlier snapshots that predate the count at the time of the post and do not contradict it.[1][7]
Context. Several sources note the U.S. has not publicly provided evidence that the vessels carried drugs, which bears on the legality of the strikes but not on their count.[5][8]
Sources
8 sources: 1 fact-checker, 7 not rated
- 1US strikes in Caribbean, Pacific have killed 69 as calls ...reuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2US military says latest strike on alleged drug-smuggling ...telegraphherald.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3'More Performative Killing at Sea': Another Trump Boat Strike ...commondreams.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4A list of US military strikes against alleged drug-carrying ...militarytimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5US military says 5 were killed by a strike on an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacificsfchronicle.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 62025 U.S. Strikes on Venezuelan Vesselsbritannica.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Unmarked watery gravesairwars.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 8US says five dead in strike on alleged drug-smuggling boatthestandard.com.hk · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- On September 2, 2025, a U.S. military strike killed nine people on a boat in the Caribbean.True
- The United States military has conducted boat strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific regions.True
- Four men from Guiria were killed in a US military boat strike on October 1, 2025.Mixed
- A US military boat strike occurred on September 15, 2025, killing three men, including Alejandro Caranza Medina.True
- On March 23, 2026, the Ecuadorian ship La Negra Franciscano de Dos was hit by a U.S. military drone strike.Mixed