Overview
- Mexican marines took down six DoD “restricted area” signs at Playa Bagdad after authorities said they were on Mexican soil, and the IBWC was tapped to address the boundary issue.
- The U.S. Embassy relayed a Pentagon explanation that contractors placed the markers beside the Rio Grande to denote National Defense Area III created under an April presidential directive.
- President Donald Trump said he would be willing to order strikes inside Mexico to stop drug trafficking, while President Claudia Sheinbaum reiterated that no foreign military operations will be allowed on Mexican territory.
- Multiple outlets, citing the New York Times, reported Trump approved CIA covert operations in Venezuela as U.S. forces, including the USS Gerald R. Ford, deploy across the Caribbean.
- The Pentagon says at least 21 lethal strikes on suspected drug boats since September have killed more than 80 people, as some regional governments, including Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana, signal cooperation with U.S. efforts.