Overview
- State authorities in Táchira and Amazonas rolled out patrols and new controls at border crossings, including deployments around the Simón Bolívar bridge linking Cúcuta and San Antonio.
- Táchira’s defense commander reported roughly 17,000 soldiers mobilized, and Amazonas forces moved to protect strategic enterprises and basic services.
- The United States has seven warships in the Caribbean and one in the Gulf of Mexico under the operation presented as counter-narcotics.
- President Trump said he authorized CIA operations and reported at least five boat strikes since early September with at least 27 deaths, and U.S. media cited officials saying a sixth strike on Thursday left survivors.
- The fallout widened as Admiral Alvin Holsey announced his retirement, Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez denied a report alleging negotiations to oust Nicolás Maduro, and Trinidad and Tobago police opened a probe into the possible deaths of two nationals after the latest strike.