Overview
- U.S. forces have carried out at least 19 strikes since September on suspected drug-smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with a reported death toll of 75 to 76.
- The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a classified analysis saying the orders are consistent with the laws of armed conflict and that service members following them are not liable for prosecution.
- France’s foreign minister said the strikes violate international law and threaten stability in French Caribbean territories, echoing concerns from independent UN experts and legal scholars.
- Colombia suspended intelligence sharing over legal concerns, and media reported the UK had done so as well, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the British suspension a “false story” at the G7.
- The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group’s arrival raised the U.S. regional presence to roughly 15,000 troops, and Venezuela responded by placing its forces on full operational readiness and ordering a major deployment.