Overview

• A confidential notice to Congress states cartel members are treated as unlawful combatants and frames three September boat attacks that left 17 dead as lawful under the law of armed conflict.
• At least two of the interdicted vessels were reported as departing from Venezuela, intensifying a standoff centered on operations in the southern Caribbean.
• Venezuela’s defense minister said President Nicolás Maduro signed a state of external commotion decree and warned of a potential national mobilization if the country is attacked.
• Caracas reported detecting U.S. combat aircraft near Maiquetía and denounced the flights as a provocation, as the U.S. operates F‑35s from Puerto Rico alongside eight warships, a nuclear attack submarine, and more than 4,500 troops.
• Legal specialists and some lawmakers question the wartime framing and lack of explicit congressional authorization, raising due‑process and oversight concerns over targeting and detention.