President Donald Trump has targeted Venezuelan drug boats with military strikes. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social/AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Thousands of miles from U.S., sovereign territory, the Trump Department of War unleashed lethal strikes on Iran-backed Houthi terror fighters in Yemen as part of a mission dubbed "Operation Rough Rider." The strikes were in response to attacks against U.S. military and commercial vessels traveling through the Red Sea.
Sean Parnell, a spokesperson for the Department of War, said in May that U.S. Central Command strikes had been carried out since March and had "hit over 1,000 targets, killing Houthi fighters and leaders and degrading their capabilities."
Parnell called the strikes "hugely successful." On May 6, the Houthis agreed to a ceasefire with the U.S., and the fighters have not carried out any attacks on U.S. vessels since, though they have targeted ships from other nations.
On March 13, U.S. Central Command carried out an airstrike in Iraq’s Al Anbar province that killed the No. 2 ISIS leader, Abdallah Makki Muslih al-Rifai, and another ISIS operative.
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social in September he had ordered a lethal strike on a vessel linked to a designated terrorist organization operating in the U.S. Southern Command’s area of responsibility. (@realDonaldTrump via Truth Social)
The strikes garnered significant criticism, with some Democrats accusing Secretary of War Pete Hegseth of war crimes. The Pentagon described the operation as a counter-narco-terrorism campaign against designated terror organizations "taken in defense of vital U.S. national interests and to protect the homeland."
In response to two U.S. service members being killed in Syria, the U.S. unleashed Operation Hawkeye Dec.19. U.S. and allied forces employed more than 100 precision munitions targeting over 70 known ISIS infrastructure and weapons sites across central Syria, resulting in the deaths or detention of 23 terrorist operatives.
Hegseth called the airstrikes "a declaration of vengeance" in direct response to the ISIS attack that took place on Dec. 13 in Palmyra, Syria.
According to Central Command, U.S. and partner forces in Syria have conducted operations during the last 12 months that resulted in more than 300 terrorists being detained.
On Christmas night, the U.S. launched strikes on ISIS-linked military forces in coordination with the Nigerian government in Sokoto State in northwestern Nigeria.
Trump said he ordered U.S. airstrikes in northwest Nigeria against ISIS militants who, he says, "have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years."
TRUMP CASTS MADURO’S OUSTER AS ‘SMART’ MOVE AS RUSSIA, CHINA ENTER THE FRAY
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem look on as President Donald Trump speaks to the press Aug. 25, 2025. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
Following months of escalation with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, this week Trump appeared to suggest the U.S. carried out a strike on drug operations inside Venezuela.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Speaking with reporters Monday, he said, "There was a major explosion in the dock area where they load the boats up with drugs. They load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats, and now we hit the area. It’s the implementation area. That’s where they implement. And that is no longer around."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/heres-where-trump-launched-airstrikes-around-world-2025-protect-homeland