A U.S. military command focused on Central and South America and the Caribbean
The US has continued its campaign against vessels it identifies as drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific. Officials say several vessels have been destroyed with fatalities reported, though no public evidence has been released linking the targets to drug cargo. The White House asserts the actions are lawful and part of an armed conflict with cartels; critics call the strikes illegal and indiscriminate.
The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group has arrived in the Caribbean, with the USS Nimitz and its air wing conducting exercises and integrating with regional navies. The move is framed as a show of force alongside regional operations, amid ongoing political tensions after Raul Castro’s indictment. The deployment follows a history of prolonged carrier deployments and regional deployments.
Two Marine Corps Osprey aircraft have flown over the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Caracas and landed in the parking lot as part of a drill for medical emergencies or catastrophic events; the exercise follows the embassy’s reopening and ongoing U.S. plans to stabilize Venezuela.
The United States has expanded sanctions and enforced an energy blockade that has cut fuel supplies to Cuba, targeted President Miguel Díaz‑Canel, members of the Castro family and military institutions, and has indicted former president Raúl Castro; the measures have deepened power outages, food and medicine shortages and drawn condemnation from the UN human rights commissioner.
U.S. forces have carried out an airstrike that has killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, the leader of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, U.S. and Venezuelan officials have said. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and President Donald Trump have said the operation targeted a compound in Bolívar state earlier this week and involved coordination with Venezuelan security forces.
The June 24 earthquakes have left thousands displaced, with water and sanitation shortages, overwhelming healthcare facilities. The death toll has surpassed 1,900, and aid continues from the US and other nations as hospitals face equipment shortages and the threat of disease spread.