Overview
- U.S. Southern Command said a strike in the Eastern Pacific killed three people on a boat in international waters it linked to a designated terrorist group, bringing reported fatalities to at least 82 since September.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced plans to designate the alleged 'Cartel de los Soles' as a foreign terrorist organization and asserted Nicolás Maduro and senior officials lead it, a claim some experts dispute.
- U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk urged Washington to halt the operations and called for rapid, independent and transparent investigations, as legal questions persist over strikes in foreign or international waters.
- U.S. military posture in the Caribbean has expanded with the arrival of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford and a second round of joint exercises with Trinidad and Tobago in less than a month.
- Maduro condemned the exercises as irresponsible and urged supporters to hold vigils and marches, while Venezuela accuses Washington of using counternarcotics as a pretext for regime change and President Trump maintains a $50 million reward for Maduro's arrest.