Overview

• President Donald Trump publicly confirmed authorizing CIA covert operations inside Venezuela after reports of a classified directive first surfaced in The New York Times.
• Trump said the U.S. is considering strikes on land targets following five maritime attacks since September that the administration says killed about 26 to 27 people.
• The latest boat strike on Oct. 14 killed six people, with the White House asserting narcotics ties while offering limited public evidence to Congress about drugs on the vessels.
• The administration has notified Congress that it views the campaign as a non‑international armed conflict against cartels designated as foreign terrorist organizations.
• Trump cited claims of Venezuelan prisoner releases into the U.S. and drug flows as his rationale, declined to say whether the CIA could target Nicolás Maduro, and faced bipartisan criticism over legality and oversight.