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Morning Brief: Congress Presses Pentagon for Strike Video, US F-18s Enter Venezuelan Airspace, ICE Uses Pepper Spray in Minneapolis Standoff

BY Guy D. McCardle

Congress presses for strike video as US jets enter Venezuela and ICE tensions rise. Here’s your Wednesday morning brief, December 10, 2025.

A F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from USS Nimitz in the Pacific, December 6, 2025. Image Credit: DVIDS.

This Wednesday, December 10, 2025, Congress intensifies demands for the full Venezuela strike video, US F-18s enter Venezuelan airspace, ICE clashes with Minneapolis residents, China’s radar lock on Japanese jets heightens tensions, Ukraine holds northern Pokrovsk, and South Korea scrambles jets as Russian and Chinese aircraft enter its air-defense zone.

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Congress Presses Pentagon for Strike Video as Questions Mount Over Deadly Drug-Boat Campaign

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told congressional leaders on Tuesday that he is still deciding whether to release the full video of a September boat strike that killed two survivors, despite growing bipartisan demands for disclosure.

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Lawmakers said a classified briefing with Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe offered few answers about the operation, which has destroyed 22 vessels and killed at least 87 people under President Donald Trump’s directive to target alleged drug smugglers near Venezuela.

Congress wants unedited footage and the orders authorizing the strikes and has threatened to withhold part of Hegseth’s travel budget if he refuses. Admiral Alvin Holsey, who is retiring early from US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), also briefed lawmakers but left major questions unresolved.

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The Pentagon argues that releasing the video could expose classified information, while lawmakers note the administration has already publicized edited strike clips.

The campaign’s legality, intelligence basis and rules of engagement face growing scrutiny, including concerns about follow-on strikes against wounded survivors. Senators from both parties are preparing a vote on restricting Trump’s authority to use force against Venezuela as congressional oversight of the operation intensifies.

 

US F-18s Enter Venezuelan Airspace in Latest Show of Force Near Key Oil Region

Two US F-18 fighter jets flew into Venezuelan airspace on Tuesday and circled over the Gulf of Venezuela for about 40 minutes in a high-visibility show of force as tensions rose between Washington and Nicolás Maduro’s government.

The jets operated near major Venezuelan energy hubs in Zulia and Falcón states, an area dotted with oil infrastructure and busy tanker routes.

The flight occurred despite Venezuela’s deployment of Russian-made S-300VM air defense systems and came as the United States continues to build up forces in the Caribbean under Operation Southern Spear, which now includes roughly 15,000 to 16,000 personnel.

Caracas has declared a state of emergency and activated military units, framing the US presence as preparation for aggression while Washington says it is targeting narcotrafficking.

The flyover followed Venezuela’s claim last week that it intercepted a “hostile” aircraft in Apure state.

 

ICE Uses Pepper Spray in Minneapolis Standoff Amid Crackdown on Somali Community

Federal agents deployed pepper spray to push through a crowd in a Somali American neighborhood of Minneapolis after residents blocked their vehicles during identification checks tied to the Trump administration’s crackdown on Somali nationals.

City Council Member Jamal Osman said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents entered East African restaurants, demanded identifications and later moved to a senior housing complex, where local residents confronted them and triggered the standoff.

ICE reported no arrests at the scene but Osman said at least one US citizen was detained, fingerprinted, and released miles from home.

Tensions in Minnesota’s Somali community have risen sharply since President Donald Trump ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Somalis and escalated enforcement actions.

Federal officials have highlighted recent arrests of Somali nationals with criminal convictions, while state leaders and community advocates denounced the president’s rhetoric and the scope of the operation.

 

US Criticizes China for Targeting Radars at Japanese Jets in Most Serious Run-In in Years

The United States criticized China for aiming fighter-jet radars at Japanese military aircraft during a training exercise near Okinawa last week, calling the move destabilizing and reaffirming its support for Japan.

Tokyo said the radar lock-on was dangerous and marked the most serious encounter between the two militaries in years, while Beijing insisted its drills were lawful and claimed Japanese aircraft had interfered with its naval training.

The incident comes as tensions rise following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comments suggesting Tokyo could respond militarily to a Chinese attack on Taiwan. China has demanded she retract the remarks.

US officials have publicly backed Japan, though US President Donald Trump has avoided direct comment as he prepares for trade talks with Beijing.

 

Ukraine Holds Northern Pokrovsk as Syrskyi Orders Limited Pullback amid Heavy Russian Buildup

Ukraine’s top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian forces continue to hold the northern part of Pokrovsk and areas west of the city despite intense Russian pressure and a recent withdrawal from exposed positions.

Syrskyi said troops secured about 13 square kilometers (5 square miles) inside the city since mid-November and now control roughly 54 square kilometers (21 square miles) to the west, contradicting Russia’s claim that it has captured the city. He ordered units stationed 5-7 kilometers (3-4 miles) outside Pokrovsk to withdraw because rotation was impossible and Russian forces were slipping through.

Syrskyi described the situation as difficult, citing a Russian buildup of 156,000 troops under cover of poor weather. He also accused Russia of spreading disinformation to distort battlefield conditions.

 

Israel Responsible for Nearly Half of Global Journalist Deaths in 2025: Press Freedom Group Reports

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that 67 journalists were killed worldwide over the past year, with Israeli forces responsible for 29 of those deaths in Gaza, accounting for 43 percent of the global total.

The group said Israel has been the world’s deadliest force for journalists for three consecutive years, with nearly 220 reporters killed since the Gaza conflict began in October 2023.

The deadliest single incident was an August 25 “double-tap” strike on a southern Gaza hospital that killed five journalists. Foreign media still lack independent access to Gaza outside tightly controlled Israeli military tours.

RSF said Mexico recorded nine journalist killings, its worst toll in at least three years, while Sudan and Ukraine also remained dangerous for reporters. The number of imprisoned journalists reached 503 worldwide, with China, Russia, and Myanmar leading in detentions.

 

Kim Jong Un Opens Party Plenum to Set Agenda Ahead of First Congress in Five Years

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un convened a plenary meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party on Tuesday to prepare for the party’s first full congress since 2021.

State media said officials began reviewing major policy issues and planning the agenda for the congress, expected early next year.

The gathering comes as the United States and South Korea seek to revive talks with Pyongyang, which has rejected negotiations since Kim’s diplomacy with US President Donald Trump collapsed in 2019. Kim has signaled he might return to dialogue if Washington drops its push for North Korean denuclearization.

The meeting follows renewed military activity, including North Korean artillery fire off its west coast, and comes amid Kim’s shift toward labeling South Korea a permanent enemy in a rewritten constitution.

 

Seoul Protests After Russian and Chinese Warplanes Enter Air Defense Zone

South Korea issued a formal protest to Russia and China after nine of their military aircraft entered the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone on Tuesday.

Seoul said seven Russian aircraft and two Chinese aircraft approached from the east and south but did not enter national airspace. South Korea scrambled fighter jets to monitor the flights, which its Joint Chiefs of Staff identified as bombers and fighters.

China later said the operation was part of a planned joint strategic air patrol with Russia over the East China Sea and western Pacific.

The incursion was the latest in a series of similar entries, including a joint patrol last November and multiple Russian flights near South Korean airspace in March.

South Korea said it will continue to respond firmly to foreign aircraft activity in the zone.

 

Sources: News Agencies

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