Overview
- The White House notified Congress that current operations targeting drug trafficking organizations are being conducted within an armed conflict framework, according to reporting on the administration’s memo.
- Officials said a September U.S. strike on a Venezuela‑origin vessel in international waters involved three attacks and killed 17 people, and Venezuela condemned the action as a “military invasion.”
- The administration’s document argues drug smuggling constitutes an armed attack on the United States, characterizes smugglers as unlawful combatants, and frames the strikes as lawful self‑defense under the laws of armed conflict.
- Separately, CBS reported that Israel’s prime minister personally approved submarine‑launched drone attacks on a Gaza‑bound aid flotilla off Tunisia that caused fires without casualties, and the report said incendiary munitions were used.
- Aid groups later said some flotilla ships were seized by Israeli forces, and London police reported 492 arrests at demonstrations supporting a banned organization during pro‑Palestine protests.