Overview

• In a Truth Social post, Trump demanded Venezuela immediately accept deported prisoners and people from mental institutions, warning the "price" for refusal would be "incalculable."
• Venezuela’s defense minister accused the United States of waging an undeclared war and the government requested a United Nations investigation into recent deadly strikes on boats the U.S. labeled as drug-running.
• The U.S. has deployed warships near Venezuela and based F-35 fighters in Puerto Rico under a counternarcotics mission described as the largest American Caribbean deployment in decades.
• Washington has not provided detailed public evidence that the vessels it says were destroyed were carrying narcotics, prompting legal and evidentiary scrutiny.
• Capriles rejected a U.S. military intervention and urged political negotiations and internal de-escalation, including the release of political prisoners.