Overview

• The memorandum to Congress reclassifies regional drug cartels as unlawful combatants and recasts recent operations as part of an ongoing non-international armed conflict rather than isolated self-defense.
• Lawmakers were told the Pentagon could not provide a list of the groups covered by the designation, prompting frustration and questions about War Powers and oversight.
• U.S. forces conducted three lethal strikes on suspected narcotics boats in the southern Caribbean last month, including a September 2 attack the government says killed 11 people.
• Venezuela’s defense minister said five combat aircraft were detected near its coast and condemned the flights as a provocation, as the government prepared emergency measures for a possible attack.
• The United States has surged naval assets to the region, and President Trump suggested potential action against Venezuelan cartels by land without detailing how such operations would proceed.