Overview
- Pentagon deployments now include B-52 bombers, Marine F-35Bs, at least seven Navy warships, an attack submarine, and the USS Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit.
- Puerto Rico has become a forward hub with 10 F-35s, MQ-9 Reaper drones, a photographed AC-130J, and reactivated Naval Station Roosevelt Roads, alongside special-operations helicopter training near Trinidad and Tobago.
- The administration says at least seven lethal strikes have hit suspected drug boats, has told Congress it views the campaign as a non-international armed conflict, and disputes Colombia’s claim that a fisherman was killed.
- War Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force to coordinate air, maritime, and special-operations missions across the region.
- Lawmakers seek oversight as Rep. Adam Smith calls for a House hearing, Sens. Adam Schiff, Tim Kaine, and Rand Paul introduce a war powers resolution, President Trump authorizes CIA covert operations in Venezuela with a $50 million bounty for information on Nicolás Maduro, and SOUTHCOM chief Adm. Alvin Holsey plans an early retirement after reported concerns about the strikes.