Overview

• Two Venezuelan F-16s flew near the USS Jason Dunham in international waters, a maneuver the Pentagon labeled highly provocative.
• U.S. commanders were told they may down Venezuelan military jets deemed a threat, following a presidential decree that also renamed the Pentagon the Department of War.
• Ten F-35 fighters were ordered to a Puerto Rico air base for Caribbean counternarcotics missions, according to CBS and other outlets, as Washington expands its regional posture.
• Earlier in the week, U.S. forces carried out a lethal strike on a boat Washington links to the Tren de Aragua, with 11 dead, an action the White House defends under laws of armed conflict and Caracas condemns as an extrajudicial killing.
• Nicolás Maduro denounced the U.S. buildup, mobilized militia forces, warned of armed resistance if invaded, and simultaneously invited dialogue with Washington.