Overview
- The mission, announced by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, will be run by a joint task force under U.S. Southern Command, with no specific targets or timelines disclosed.
- The U.S. confirms 20 attacks on suspected smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Pacific with 79 fatalities reported, while EU officials and UN experts question the legal basis and Washington cites self‑defense.
- The USS Gerald R. Ford has reached the Southern Command area after redeployment from the Mediterranean, expanding a broader U.S. naval presence off Latin America.
- Senior U.S. commanders have, according to CBS, presented President Trump with options that could include strikes on Venezuelan targets, though no decision has been announced.
- Venezuela has staged large-scale exercises under Plan Independencia 200 and denounced the U.S. deployments as a provocation, as regional friction grows with Colombia pausing security cooperation with U.S. intelligence services.