Overview
- President Trump said he is open to speaking with Nicolás Maduro but declined to rule out deploying American ground forces in Venezuela.
- The USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group have moved into the Caribbean, expanding a regional U.S. deployment that includes additional warships, a submarine and F‑35 aircraft.
- The State Department plans to designate the Cartel de los Soles a Foreign Terrorist Organization effective Nov. 24, alleging Maduro and senior officials lead it, a claim some researchers dispute.
- U.S. forces have conducted more than 20 lethal strikes on suspected drug boats since September, with at least 83 people killed, as rights groups and U.N. officials call for investigations and question the legal basis.
- Trump said he would be OK with U.S. strikes in Mexico to counter drug trafficking and raised the prospect of targeting cocaine facilities in Colombia, while Trinidad and Tobago stated it will not allow its territory to be used for attacks on Venezuela.