Overview

• Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López ordered the start of the Sovereign Caribbean 200 exercise centered on La Orchila, a Venezuelan military island base.
• The drills run for three days with about 2,500 personnel, 12 navy ships, 22 aircraft and 20 naval militia boats, plus armed and surveillance drones, electronic warfare assets and amphibious landings.
• Venezuelan officials frame the operation as a response to a reinforced U.S. naval presence near the southern Caribbean, which public reports say includes multiple destroyers and a submarine.
• President Donald Trump disclosed strikes on Sept. 2 and Sept. 16 that sank small vessels he said carried narcotics, with at least 15 people killed and described by him as terrorists, while he provided no public evidence for the claims.
• Caracas protested what it calls an unlawful boarding of a Venezuelan tuna boat in its Special Economic Zone and accused the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration of a “false-flag” operation linked to a recent multi-ton cocaine seizure.