Overview

• Pentagon planners are evaluating options to hit suspected traffickers and drug labs inside Venezuela using drones within weeks, according to NBC News, though President Trump has not approved any operation.
• Washington maintains a reinforced presence in the southern Caribbean with at least eight warships, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, F-35 fighters in Puerto Rico, and thousands of personnel.
• U.S. forces previously destroyed several boats it said were tied to drug trafficking, with fatalities reported and limited public evidence; officials in the Dominican Republic said drugs were found in the water after one strike.
• Venezuela escalated domestic preparations with nationwide drills, militia recruitment and discussion of a state of conmoción exterior, as Nicolás Maduro used the U.S. moves to rally support.
• Regional dynamics remain mixed as Cuba ruled out military intervention and limited its support to diplomacy, Venezuela pressed its case at the U.N., and reports described quiet U.S.–Venezuelan contacts via Middle East intermediaries.