Officials say many federal officers involved in immigration enforcement in Chicago have body cameras, but expanding their use requires more funding from Congress. The issue was discussed at a hearing Monday about the tactics used in the Trump administration's crackdown in Chicago, which has led to over 1,000 arrests. U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis has ordered agents to wear cameras during arrests and searches. Officials testified about the operation and complaints of aggressive tactics. The hearing is part of a lawsuit by news organizations and community groups. The government denies any wrongdoing, saying officers have faced attacks while enforcing federal law.

Legal experts say U.S. strikes against alleged members of Latin American drug cartels are pushing the bounds of international law. Under President Donald Trump, the U.S. military has struck several boats, killing 28 people, after authorities received information suggesting they were carrying drugs. Trump's administration is justifying this use of force by relying on a legal framework created after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. That framework allowed authorities to use lethal force against al-Qaida combatants responsible for the attacks on the U.S. The gangs now being targeted in Latin America, however, are a different foe, fueled not by anti-U.S. ideology but by the drug trade.

President Donald Trump has confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela. The president on Wednesday also said he's considering land operations following recent U.S. military strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats from Venezuela. Trump told reporters at an Oval Office event that he had authorized the move because Venezuela is allowing criminals and drugs to flow into the U.S. On Wednesday, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro lashed out at the record of the U.S. spy agency in various conflicts around the world without directly addressing Trump's comments about authorizing the CIA to carry out covert operations in Venezuela.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says he ordered another strike on a small boat he accused of carrying drugs off Venezuela. It expands what the Trump administration has declared is an "armed conflict" with cartels. In a social media post Friday, Hegseth asserted that the "vessel was trafficking narcotics" and those aboard were "narco-terrorists." He said the strike killed four men but offered no details on who they were or what group they belonged to. This follows the U.S. designating several cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. It's the fourth deadly strike in the Caribbean and the latest since revelations that President Donald Trump said he was treating drug traffickers as unlawful combatants and military force was required to combat them.