Overview

• President Trump announced U.S. forces struck and destroyed a vessel he said departed Venezuela carrying drugs, claiming 11 people were killed and sharing imagery of a burning boat.
• Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the target was tied to the Tren de Aragua network and described the action as a lethal operation conducted in international waters under U.S. Southern Command.
• Rubio said the craft left Venezuela and was moving through the southern Caribbean, noting a possible destination of Trinidad or another country, while reporting no U.S. casualties.
• Multiple outlets have reported several U.S. warships positioned off Venezuela and plans under discussion to send about 4,000 Marines, details that U.S. officials frame as counternarcotics posture.
• Maduro has condemned the deployments as the region’s greatest threat in a century, vowed armed resistance, and touted vast militia numbers that analysts view as exaggerated, as the U.S. maintains a $50 million reward tied to his alleged drug links.