Overview
- U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called the strikes "unacceptable," saying they violate international human rights law and risk extrajudicial killings.
- The Pentagon confirmed a 14th strike this week in the eastern Pacific, bringing reported deaths to at least 61 since early September.
- The Trump administration argues the operations fall within a declared non‑international armed conflict against designated terrorist cartels, a position legal experts and rights groups dispute.
- News reports say U.S. planners have identified suspected trafficking facilities inside Venezuela for potential airstrikes, with timelines described by sources as possible within weeks, though no land strikes have been carried out.
- U.S. force levels in the region have surged with warships, aircraft and thousands of personnel deployed offshore, as members of Congress press for fuller briefings and a clear legal basis for the campaign.