Overview
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said an overnight strike in the Caribbean destroyed a boat allegedly tied to Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, killing six, bringing acknowledged operations to ten and deaths to at least 43.
- The Pentagon ordered the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to U.S. Southern Command waters to expand surveillance and strike capacity against narcotics networks.
- The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Petro, his wife, his son and an associate, a move Petro rejected as unjust and that further strains a once close anti-drug partnership.
- President Donald Trump said he will brief Congress but does not intend to seek a declaration of war, adding that land-based strikes against traffickers could follow.
- UN-appointed experts and several Latin American leaders condemned the lethal boat strikes as unlawful, noting scarce public evidence of contraband and highlighting that two prior survivors were repatriated, with one later released by Ecuadorian prosecutors.