A new report from the Cost of War Project at Brown University has found that United States President Donald Trump’s administration cost American taxpayers at least $4.7 billion with its bombing spree and military operations in Venezuela, the Caribbean, and the Eastern Pacific. This steep price tag covers the period of August 2025 to March 2026 and does not include “long-term budgetary costs” such as veterans’ benefits, the report notes, though those “will also accrue into the future.”
During that period, the raid that led to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s capture and a slew of attacks on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific killed nearly 240 people. The Maduro raid alone resulted in the deaths of 32 Cuban personnel, 23 Venezuelan officers, and at least two civilians. Military strikes on boats killed at least 163 people, while a collision between two US ships killed an American military service member in February.
The report breaks down the costs to US taxpayers by the type of military operation. The naval deployment alone racked up a bill of more than $3.8 billion. Aircraft deployment, on the other hand, cost north of $616.3 million, while special operation forces came in at more than $15.9 million. Operation Absolute Resolve, the raid on Venezuela and kidnapping of its president, clocked in at more than $206.6 million. The munitions involved in strikes on vessels ranged between $12.5 million and a little more than $50.3 million.
Congress has still not authorized military operations in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific, according to the report, and the Pentagon “has not provided information about costs of Venezuela-related operations, even as they continue to mount.”
The Cost of War Project points out that the $4.7 billion tally is a “conservative estimate,” explaining: Full data for several cost categories are not publicly available, and certain operations — such as the details of a CIA operation in Venezuela referenced by President Trump — remain classified or incompletely reported in the public domain.”
Nor does the tally include several other expenses, such as rebuilding US military bases in Puerto Rico, maintaining a military presence in the region, or procurement, research, and development costs.
The Ford Carrier Strike Group, one of the costliest components of these operations in the Western Hemisphere, left the region in February to support the Trump administration’s war in Iran. Still, the costs have continued to grow — and the report explains that the “greatest costs may be yet to come.”
The Pentagon’s internal watchdog recently opened an inquiry into whether the Trump administration’s attacks on boats in the Caribbean and the Eastern Pacific followed proper procedures. For their part, both Democratic and some Republican lawmakers have sounded the alarm on the legality of such attacks in the Western Hemisphere.
In recent months, the Trump administration has also ramped up pressure on Cuba. Although Trump initially insisted that the US would not have to use its military to oust the government in Havana, his administration has more recently floated the idea of enacting regime change on the island.
The president campaigned on ending forever wars, but since returning to office in January 2025, he has overseen air strikes and drone attacks targeting at least seven countries on several continents. Last year, the Pentagon budget topped $1 trillion for the first time history.
Those costs could spike significantly. For the 2027 fiscal year, the Trump administration has requested a record $1.5 trillion military budget. A recent poll conducted by ReThink Media and the Costs of War Project found that some 60% of Americans believe the budget proposal is too high.