Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said a drone struck a vessel operated by a designated terrorist group in international waters, killing two people and causing no U.S. casualties.
- The operation is the 16th since early September, with at least 66 people reported killed and more than a dozen vessels targeted across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
- Administration lawyers told lawmakers the boat strikes do not constitute hostilities under the War Powers Resolution even as the initial 60‑day window from September’s notification expired this week.
- Senators Tim Kaine and Rand Paul plan to revive a War Powers measure to curb unilateral action, and committee leaders are pressing for OLC legal opinions and other documents that have not been provided.
- News reports say officials have prepared options for strikes inside Venezuela and potential seizure of oil fields, while a U.S. military buildup continues and U.N. officials and rights groups criticize the killings and lack of public evidence.