Overview

• U.S. officials confirmed seven to eight warships and a nuclear fast‑attack submarine are in or heading to the Southern Caribbean, with roughly 4,500 sailors and Marines aboard and additional amphibious ships expected next week.
• The Navy’s top officer said the forces support operations tied to Venezuelan drug cartels, while P‑8 patrol aircraft are conducting surveillance in international airspace.
• Caracas filed a formal protest with the U.N., deployed ships and drones to coastal patrols, launched militia recruitment drives, and announced 15,000 troops to the Colombia border.
• The deployment follows policy escalations that include terrorist designations for cartels such as Tren de Aragua and Sinaloa and a doubled $50 million U.S. reward linked to Nicolás Maduro.
• Officials and experts say the posture is too small for an invasion and functions as a show of force, noting questions about how Atlantic deployments align with drug routes that heavily use the Pacific and clandestine flights.