Overview
- SOUTHCOM said the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group moved into the Caribbean as part of Operation Southern Spear.
- Since early September, U.S. forces have hit about 20 suspected drug-running boats in the southern Caribbean and eastern Pacific, with roughly 80 people killed.
- Pentagon and SOUTHCOM statements describe the mission as detecting, disrupting and degrading illicit maritime networks tied to transnational criminal organizations.
- Venezuela has mobilized forces and positioned equipment for a nationwide “prolonged resistance” using small units at more than 280 sites, according to reporting cited from planning documents.
- Regional and political tensions are building, with CBS News reporting U.S. leaders presented Trump options up to possible land strikes and Colombia saying it would suspend intelligence sharing over the boat sinkings.