U.S. resumes Caribbean boat strikes after two-month pause under new Joint Task Force

After the longest pause since the campaign began - the last known strike had been recorded on 21 June 2026 - the U.S. military announced a new strike on an alleged drug-trafficking vessel on 23 August 2026, followed by another on 25 August that killed four people. Operations resumed under the newly created Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere, presented as U.S. Southern Command's "action arm" for confronting threats across the hemisphere. According to independent trackers by Airwars and Just Security, the campaign had already killed more than 200 people.

Judge sets June 2027 trial date for Maduro and Cilia Flores

In a hearing of roughly 15 to 20 minutes held on 22 July 2026, U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein of the Southern District of New York set 1 June 2027 as the start date for the criminal trial of former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Both, captured by U.S. forces in Caracas on 3 January 2026, remain held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn and have pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking and narco-terrorism charges. Prosecutors and the defense jointly proposed the date, cautioning it could shift over the handling of classified information.

Alex Saab deported from Venezuela to the U.S., faces new Miami charges

On 16 May 2026, Venezuela's interim government under Delcy Rodriguez deported Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Nain Saab Moran to the United States. The measure was executed invoking Saab's Colombian nationality under Venezuelan immigration law; on 18 May Saab appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Miami) before Magistrate Judge Marty Fulgueira Elfenbein, charged in a new money-laundering conspiracy and related counts.

Carvajal sentencing postponed after letter offering Maduro intel to Trump

Federal Judge Paul Gardephe again postponed the sentencing of Hugo "El Pollo" Carvajal in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. It was the latest adjournment since his June 2025 guilty plea, and came after his defense confirmed the existence of a letter Carvajal sent to President Donald Trump in December 2025 offering "details" about the Venezuelan government's operations, including alleged cooperation with Tren de Aragua, dealings with Iran and the FARC, and espionage inside the United States.