Former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro brought into New York courtroom for a hearing in drug trafficking case.

The trial has begun for former congressman David Rivera over allegations he secretly lobbied for Venezuela’s government during the first Trump administration. Prosecutors allege Rivera was a hired gun for former President Nicolás Maduro and leveraged Republican connections from his time in Congress to push the White House to abandon its hard line on Venezuela's socialist government. Prosecutors say Rivera was aided by Texas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions and a convicted Cali cartel associate as he sought meetings with the White House and Exxon Mobil on Maduro’s behalf. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to testify about meetings with Rivera. Rivera denies wrongdoing.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been designated a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration as federal prosecutors in New York probe his alleged ties to drug traffickers, according to people familiar with the matter and records seen by The Associated Press. DEA records show Petro has surfaced in multiple investigations dating to 2022, many based on interviews with confidential informants. Petro has denied all ties to drug traffickers. Prosecutors in Brooklyn and Manhattan in recent months have been questioning drug traffickers about their ties to Petro and specifically about allegations the Colombian president’s representatives solicited bribes to block their extradition to the United States, said one of the people familiar with the inquiry.

US prosecutors are probing whether Colombian President Gustavo Petro had ties to drug traffickers, sources tell AP.

The U.S. military says it has killed six men in a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in the eastern Pacific Ocean as part of the Trump administration’s campaign against alleged traffickers. Sunday’s attack brought the death toll to at least 157 people since the Trump administration began targeting those it calls “narcoterrorists” in small vessels in early September. As with most of the military’s statements on the more than 40 known strikes, U.S. Southern Command said it targeted alleged drug traffickers along known smuggling routes. The military did not provide evidence that the vessel was ferrying drugs. It posted a video on X that showed a small boat floating on the water and then being blown up.

Court documents show that a man accused of killing three women in Utah was already known to police in Iowa. Twenty-two-year-old Ivan Miller had been scheduled for an arraignment Friday in Iowa where he's accused of breaking into a cabin back in December. Miller had been released without bail on those charges in January after vowing to appear for the next court appearance. He's now jailed in Colorado and separately charged in Utah with the deaths of the three women. A public defender representing Miller in the Colorado case said Friday during a court hearing that his client will fight extradition to Utah and does not want to speak to media.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is urging Latin American countries to take a more aggressive approach against drug cartels. He's warning that the Trump administration would be forced to act by itself if those governments fail to effectively combat criminal organizations that directly threaten the United States and border security. Hegseth's comments came Thursday in Miami at what the Pentagon billed as the first “Americas Counter Cartel Conference.” Representatives from Argentina, Honduras and the Dominican Republic were among more than a dozen conservative governments closely aligned with President Donald Trump.