Overview
- Defense Minister Pete Hegseth said two Sunday strikes in international waters of the eastern Pacific killed six men, with no U.S. casualties reported.
- Reported fatalities from U.S. attacks on suspected smuggling boats have reached at least 76 across roughly 20 incidents since September.
- Washington has not publicly presented proof that the boats carried drugs or identified the groups involved, while UN human rights chief Volker Türk warns of likely extrajudicial killings and urges scrutiny.
- U.S. Southern Command confirmed the USS Gerald R. Ford, escorted by three destroyers, has entered its Latin America–Caribbean area to bolster detection and interdiction, without disclosing the carrier’s exact location.
- Venezuela condemns the killings as illegal executions and has launched the Plan Independencia 200 defense drills, as regional governments voice concern over legal justification and escalation risks.