Overview
- The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel produced a nearly 50‑page memo deeming the strikes consistent with the laws of armed conflict and saying personnel are protected for obeying lawful orders.
- U.S. forces have carried out roughly 19–20 attacks on suspected smuggling vessels in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific since September, with about 75–76 reported deaths and no public proof offered that the boats carried drugs.
- France’s foreign minister said the operations violate international law at the G7 meeting in Canada, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed European criticism and called the targets “narco‑terrorists.”
- The United Kingdom and Colombia have suspended related intelligence sharing with Washington, and EU officials reiterated that only self‑defense or a UN mandate could justify such force at sea.
- The USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group arrived in the region, bringing U.S. forces to about 15,000, and Venezuela ordered nationwide military readiness in response to the deployment.