Overview

• Venezuela conducted a second day of exercises around La Orchila with 12 military vessels, about 20 smaller boats, 22 aircraft and roughly 2.3 thousand personnel, framed as preparation against foreign threats.
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a Coast Guard boarding video and said Operation Pacific Viper has seized 34 tons of cocaine and led to 59 arrests in Pacific operations since August.
• President Donald Trump said three vessels were destroyed in the Caribbean campaign, but only two strike videos have been made public, and key details remain contested.
• Caracas alleges a Venezuelan tuna boat was approached or attacked near La Blanquilla by personnel from the USS Jason Dunham, a claim that has not been independently verified.
• China, Cuba, Russia, Iran and Nicaragua voiced support for Venezuela, with Havana urging international mobilization against U.S. actions, while Nicolás Maduro expanded militia efforts and announced firearms training for community volunteers starting September 20.