Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally named the mission Operation Southern Spear as the USS Gerald R. Ford and additional warships took positions near Venezuela.
- Officials briefed President Donald Trump on options for strikes inside Venezuela, and he said he had “sort of made up my mind” about potential action.
- The United States reports about 20 strikes on suspected drug-smuggling boats since early September, with roughly 80 people killed, and U.S. Southern Command said four died in a strike on Monday.
- Venezuela ordered the mobilization of 200,000 soldiers and called for vigilance in eastern states after the United States and Trinidad and Tobago resumed joint exercises off its coast.
- Rights groups and several governments have challenged the legality of the boat attacks, and reports that the U.K. and Canada restricted maritime intelligence for lethal operations remain disputed by Washington.