The involvement of Stephen Miller, who was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Advisor to Homeland Security in September 2025, was critical in leading the U.S. military attacks on so-called drug boats in Venezuela. These actions, which the National Security Council and the State Department normally presided over, saw the Homeland Security Council (HSC) of Miller playing the lead role at times under the influence of the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Military Actions and Justifications
The first strike was launched on September 2 by the U.S Navy, which was aiming at a speedboat in the southern Caribbean. The operation was announced by President Donald Trump, who alleged that the ship was transporting narcotics belonging to the Tren de Aragua gang, a Venezuelan criminal group declared a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Eleven people were killed in the strike.
Later strikes ensued, such as one on September 16, which claimed the lives of three people on board a ship that was found transporting drugs allegedly into Venezuela. President Trump stressed that these types of drug trafficking were a great danger to national security.
Legal and Procedural Concerns
These strikes have been controversial on legal grounds. The Trump administration used Article II powers and the designation of Tren de Aragua as a foreign terrorist organization as justification for the actions. Legal experts have, however, raised concerns over whether there is enough evidence that the group was connected to the Venezuelan government. According to a ruling by a federal appeals court, the deportations as provided in the Alien Enemies Act were illegal because there was no evidence sufficient to link Tren de Aragua to the Venezuelan government.
The Human Rights Watch criticized the killings as extrajudicial ones, noting that there was no transparency and accountability in the killings.
International Reactions
The U.S. actions were condemned by the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, who was ready to enter the dialogue, however. He agreed to hold talks with the U.S envoy Richard Grenell, citing previous successful diplomatic engagements involving repatriation deals and hostages.
The Dominican Republic claimed to have found 377 packages of cocaine on a speedboat hit by a U.S military airstrike. The ship was found approximately 80 nautical miles south of Beata Island and estimated to be carrying approximately one metric ton of cocaine (2,200 pounds). Officials said that the narcotics were supposed to be utilized in the Dominican Republic as a transit point on the way to the U.S.
Stephen Miller’s Role and Controversies
The participation of Stephen Miller in these operations has attracted attention to him because of his past controversial propositions. In 2018, Miller supposedly proposed to kill a boat of migrants in international waters with a Predator drone. Admiral Paul Zukunft, who was the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard at the time, strongly opposed the proposal to do so, citing that such a move would be contrary to international law.
The concentration of power within HSC and its impact on American foreign policy and international law are still questioned by the current position of Miller in commanding military attacks against foreign ships.
