Overview

• President Trump announced the strike on Truth Social, released a 33‑second video of the blast, and said it occurred in international waters with no U.S. casualties.
• The operation is at least the fifth in this series since September, with U.S. figures putting the cumulative death toll at 27.
• A memorandum to Congress says the United States is engaged in a non‑international armed conflict with designated organizations, treating cartel members as unlawful combatants under the law of armed conflict.
• Lawmakers are demanding underlying proof that the boats carried narcotics, and a Senate war‑powers resolution to restrict the strikes failed last week.
• Venezuelan officials report U.S. fighter flights near their coast and have activated defensive measures as U.S. destroyers, a nuclear submarine, amphibious ships, and F‑35s operate in the Caribbean.