Overview

• Nicolás Maduro signed a decree granting himself expanded defense authority for 90 days, enabling nationwide troop mobilization and military control of public services and the oil sector.
• He said he is prepared to declare a state of emergency if the United States attacks, as Venezuela steps up militia training and readiness.
• The United States has surged naval and air assets into the Caribbean and has struck several small boats in international waters, with reports of at least 17 Venezuelans killed.
• NBC News reports that U.S. military planners are drafting options for air raids inside Venezuela, and President Trump declined to rule out such strikes when asked Tuesday.
• U.N. experts have questioned the lawfulness of lethal boat strikes as possible extrajudicial killings, while reporting points to internal White House debate over further escalation and efforts to force Maduro from power.