Overview
- Trinidad and Tobago confirmed joint training with the U.S. 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit from Nov. 16–21 across urban and rural locations.
- Foreign Minister Sean Sobers said the exercises are not a precursor to U.S. military action outside the country, particularly against Venezuela.
- U.S. Southern Command released video of a Nov. 10 lethal strike under Operation Lanza del Sur that killed four on a vessel officials linked to narcotics smuggling, with roughly 80 deaths reported across more than 20 attacks since August.
- Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the operation’s launch this week as the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier group joined an expanded U.S. deployment in Caribbean waters.
- President Donald Trump met Pentagon leaders to review options on Venezuela, while Nicolás Maduro condemned the campaign and urged the U.S. public to stop a war in the Caribbean.