Overview
- In a CNN interview during a pro‑government march in Caracas, Nicolás Maduro urged President Donald Trump to avoid another prolonged conflict, declaring “Yes, peace.”
- National Assembly leader Jorge Rodríguez cautioned that any Caribbean war would carry incalculable consequences for Venezuela, the broader Caribbean and the United States.
- Venezuela convened more than 100 international jurists from 30 countries to back its denunciation of U.S. actions and to press a legal case.
- U.S. forces have carried out roughly 20 strikes on suspected drug‑running boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, with about 80 reported deaths, including four in a recent incident announced Thursday.
- Defense officials in Caracas say around 200,000 troops are mobilized and new integrated defense commands are in place as the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group operates in the region.