Overview
- Media in the region report roughly 20–21 suspected drug boats have been struck by U.S. forces since late summer, with about 80 people killed and a latest strike announced Thursday leaving four dead.
- The USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group are operating under U.S. Southern Command, marking the largest U.S. naval presence in the Caribbean in decades.
- CBS News reporting, echoed by RPP, says U.S. military leaders presented Trump with updated courses of action that include possible ground attacks, though no decision has been announced.
- Venezuelan officials warned of consequences they called incalculable and denounced the deployments as aggression, while President Nicolás Maduro publicly urged peace and called on people to unite for continental stability.
- Separately, Trump threatened a $1 billion defamation suit against the BBC over an edited January 6 segment; the BBC apologized, two senior executives resigned, and legal analysts say a Florida filing would face hurdles in proving local reputational harm.