Overview
- President Trump told a White House roundtable he will not seek a formal war declaration and directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to brief Congress on prospective land operations.
- U.S. forces have conducted about nine lethal strikes on suspected drug boats since early September, with at least 37 deaths and two new attacks this week in the eastern Pacific.
- Flight-tracking data showed two B-1 bombers near Venezuela on Thursday, a report Trump denied, as the Pentagon sustains a buildup including warships, F-35s and a submarine.
- Officials say some cartel groups are designated as foreign terrorists or unlawful combatants, and Trump has authorized covert CIA activity in Venezuela.
- Critics in Congress and regional leaders such as Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Colombia’s Gustavo Petro challenged the campaign’s legality and evidence, citing reports of civilian casualties.