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Venezuela, Cuba and the Americas: US Military and Security News

Daily, sourced reporting on U.S. military action and pressure in the Americas: Venezuela, Cuba, the Caribbean and Latin America.

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Overview

This page is Peter's World's home for Venezuela-US war news, Cuba news today and wider Latin America security. The newest Americas report from the War Room appears here automatically each day, with the weekly roundup, a timeline built from Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports and the President's War Powers letter, and answers to common questions.

The daily report attributes each claim to the government, agency or organization that made it and separates confirmed facts from allegations.

Start here: key explainers

Latest report: Venezuela US war news

The newest War Room report for this theater appears here automatically each day, followed by the previous seven and the latest weekly roundup.

Previous daily reports

Weekly roundup: Americas Weekly Roundup: Cuba Case, Venezuela Talks, Brazil Runoff

Key facts and timeline

Each entry below is attributed to the official source it comes from; numbers in brackets link to that source.

  1. Before January 2026, the United States carried out months of lethal strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drugs for designated foreign terrorist organizations, seized vessels carrying sanctioned Venezuelan oil, and destroyed a port facility in a drone strike, CRS reported. [1]

  2. U.S. forces conducted strikes across Venezuela that ended with the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, who were taken to New York to face narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons charges, according to CRS. [1]

  3. President Trump informed Congress, in a letter "consistent with the War Powers Resolution," that U.S. forces had conducted "targeted and limited military strikes" in Venezuela. [2]

  4. President Trump issued an executive order declaring a national emergency with respect to Cuba and setting up a system to impose tariffs on countries that supply oil to Cuba, CRS reported. After Maduro's capture, the administration halted Cuban oil imports from Venezuela, Cuba's main supplier. [3]

Official sources

  1. CRS Insight IN12618: U.S. Capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro: Considerations for Congress (updated Jan 12, 2026)
  2. House Document 119-124: President's War Powers letter on Venezuela (Jan 5, 2026), GovInfo
  3. CRS Insight IN12650: U.S. Policy Toward Cuba: Recent Developments (Feb 3, 2026; read via EveryCRSReport)

Trackers, roundups and related theaters

Other War Room theaters

Venezuela US war news: frequently asked questions

Is the United States at war with Venezuela?

U.S. forces carried out strikes across Venezuela on January 3, 2026 and captured Nicolás Maduro, according to CRS. President Trump told Congress the strikes were "targeted and limited." Congress considered War Powers resolutions on Venezuela but had not approved them as of CRS's January 12, 2026 update.

What happened to Nicolás Maduro?

CRS reports that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured on January 3, 2026 and transferred to New York to face narco-terrorism, drug trafficking and weapons charges.

What is the latest Cuba news?

The newest daily report above covers Cuba. For background: CRS reported that a January 29, 2026 executive order declared a national emergency on Cuba and set up tariffs on countries that supply Cuba with oil.

Does this page cover the rest of Latin America?

Yes. The daily Americas report also covers Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Haiti and other countries when security news breaks.

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