Full Analysis Summary
U.S. policy on lethal force
Starting Sept. 2, U.S. military operations authorized to use lethal force against alleged drug‑trafficking groups were expanded by senior Trump administration advisers into a broader campaign tied to efforts to oust Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Stephen Miller reportedly pressed for aggressive results and new authorities.
A classified presidential directive he helped draft on July 25 labeled about two dozen foreign criminal groups as 'terrorist organizations' and authorized lethal action.
Coverage Differences
Source limitation / inability to compare
Only Folha de S.Paulo is available for this briefing, so cross‑source differences in narrative, tone, or omission cannot be identified. The analysis below therefore relies entirely on Folha’s reporting and notes where additional sources would be needed to corroborate or contradict its claims.
Permissive maritime strike directive
Folha reports that the presidential directive and subsequent orders translated into a permissive counterterrorism-style targeting approach.
A Defense Department "execution order" issued on Aug. 5 and later modified used language drawn from the fight against Al Qaeda and ISIS.
It instructed forces to "treat suspected traffickers like terrorists."
That guidance opened the legal and operational pathway for lethal maritime strikes.
Coverage Differences
Source limitation / inability to compare
Because only Folha de S.Paulo’s account is available, the piece’s characterization of the orders as “permissive” and modeled on counterterrorism doctrine cannot be checked against other reporting or official documents here; independent confirmation would be required to assess whether other outlets or officials describe the rules similarly or dispute that framing.
Pentagon maritime strikes report
Under those authorities, Folha says the Pentagon carried out strikes on at least 26 boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
The attacks killed at least 99 people, and the Pentagon has not publicly identified the dead.
Folha's reporting links those kinetic actions directly to the orders that treated traffickers as terrorist-like targets.
Coverage Differences
Source limitation / inability to compare
The casualty figures, scope of maritime strikes, and the claim that the Pentagon has not publicly identified the dead are drawn from Folha alone here; other sources (government releases, international agencies, local reporting) would be needed to verify numbers and identify victims or to present alternate casualty estimates.
Debate over campaign legality
Folha records sharp criticism from former officials and legal experts who say the campaign stretches or violates international law and warns that labeling traffickers as terrorists lacks a clear legal basis.
The reporting notes early deliberations considered CIA covert action, but legal and other resistance pushed the White House toward military action, indicating internal debate over lawful and covert options.
Coverage Differences
Source limitation / inability to compare
Only Folha’s presentation of legal criticism and the internal deliberation process is available here; without contrasting accounts from legal authorities, U.S. officials, or independent legal analysts in other outlets, the degree and character of legal objections cannot be contextualized across sources.
Maritime campaign political context
Folha also links the maritime campaign to broader political aims: the effort intersected with Secretary of State Marco Rubio's push to remove Maduro (including a $50 million reward announced earlier), and officials told Folha that Hegseth was eager to implement the high-priority mission.
The Pentagon declined to discuss details publicly while a spokesman framed the strikes as tied to defending the homeland, leaving political intent, operational accountability, and victim identification as open questions in need of further reporting.
Coverage Differences
Source limitation / inability to compare
Because only Folha is being used here, the article’s claim that the operation intersected with Rubio’s anti‑Maduro push and the $50 million reward cannot be cross‑checked against other political reporting or official timelines; alternative outlets might emphasize different motives or pushback but are not available in this dataset.