Overview

• At least seven U.S. warships and a nuclear fast-attack submarine are in or heading to the Southern Caribbean with roughly 4,500 sailors and Marines, including units aboard USS Iwo Jima, USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale.
• P-8 maritime patrol aircraft have been conducting intelligence flights over international waters, and Navy leaders have offered few operational details beyond support for missions targeting drug cartels.
• Venezuela lodged a formal complaint at the United Nations, deployed warships and drones, launched militia recruitment drives, and sent 15,000 troops to the Colombia border as President Nicolás Maduro vowed there is “no way” U.S. forces could invade.
• The White House says many regional governments support counter-drug operations, after designating several cartels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations and doubling a reward for information leading to Maduro’s capture to $50 million.
• Analysts note most cocaine maritime flows transit the Pacific or use clandestine air routes and assess the current force is a show of pressure with escalation risks, not a prelude to a large-scale invasion.