Overview
- Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous U.S. officials, report that military targets inside Venezuela have been identified and could be hit in days or hours.
- President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he is not planning attacks on Venezuela, contradicting the anonymously sourced reports.
- U.N. human-rights chief Volker Türk called U.S. air attacks on suspected drug-running boats unacceptable, urged a halt and investigations, and cited more than 60 deaths since early September.
- U.S. forces remain positioned in the region with eight Navy ships, F‑35 fighter jets in Puerto Rico, recent B‑52 and B‑1 flights, and the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group heading to the Caribbean.
- The reported objectives include degrading ports, airstrips and naval facilities allegedly tied to trafficking and pressuring Nicolás Maduro, a strategy drawing legal scrutiny over use of force and alleged extrajudicial killings.