Overview

• A memo to key committees says the U.S. is in a non-international armed conflict with cartels designated as terrorist organizations and labels them unlawful combatants, providing the legal rationale for recent operations.
• The declaration follows three to four U.S. strikes on small boats in the southern Caribbean last month that killed 17 people the administration alleges were traffickers linked to Venezuela, with little public evidence released.
• Legal experts and some lawmakers questioned the move’s lawfulness and scope, warning that treating criminal groups as wartime enemies could enable extraordinary powers normally reserved for armed conflicts.
• Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro signed a decree granting special powers to mobilize the military and assume control of public services and oil in case of U.S. aggression, with preparations underway for a possible 90-day emergency.
• U.S. forces remain surged in the region with warships, a submarine, and F-35s deployed, and NBC News reporting that planners have drafted options for strikes inside Venezuela that have not been publicly authorized.