Washington (AP) – President Donald Trump The US military said on Monday it once again targeted a boat that allegedly carried drugs from Venezuela, and killed three people on board, suggesting that the cartel’s military targeting could be further expanded.
“The strikes have occurred, but these confirmed narcotolists from Venezuela were in international waters transporting illegal drugs (a deadly arms addicted American!) heading to the United States,” Trump said in the True Social Post announcing the strike. “These highly violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to the US national security, foreign policy, and important US interests.”
The strike took place almost two weeks later Another military strike As for what the Trump administration said, Venezuela It killed 11.
Speaking to reporters in the oval office later Monday, Trump said he was shown footage of the latest strike by General Dan Kane, chairman of the co-director.
Asked for evidence that the US is carrying drugs, Trump said, “We have evidence. All you have to do is look at cargo that has splashed into the ocean.
Trump also suggested that US troops targeting suspected drug smugglers at sea could expand to land.
He said that since its first strike earlier this month, the US military has fewer Caribbean ships. However, he said the cartels still smuggle drugs on the land.
“We’re now saying that the cartel is going to stop them too,” Trump said. “When they come to land, we’re going to stop them the same way we stopped the boat. …But by talking a bit about it, that won’t happen. If it doesn’t happen, that’s a good thing.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses later took him to X and warned that the US would “track them, kill them, and dismantle the networks throughout the hemisphere.” The White House also posted a video clip that was not classified on strike social media.
Legality Questions
The Trump administration justified military action as an escalation necessary to halt the flow of drugs to the United States.
But several senators, Democrats and some Republicans have questioned the legality of Trump’s actions. They view it as a potential overdue for enforcement, as the military was being used for law enforcement purposes.
California Sen. Adam Schiff said he is drafting a forces resolution aimed at preventing US forces from engaging in further strikes until formally approved by Congress.
Schiff said he was concerned that “these lawless murders only put us at risk,” and could urge other countries to target US troops without proper justification.
“We don’t want to see us join the war with Venezuela because the president is just blowing his will out of the water,” Schiff said.
Human rights groups also raised concerns that strikes would implement international fraut law. The White House provides a little bit of information about how operations were integrated, or the legal authority in which they were implemented.
“Let’s be clear – this could be an extrajudicial execution, a murder,” said Daphne Eviatar, who directs Amnesty International USA’s human rights program. “There is absolutely no legal justification for this military strike.”
The Trump administration has argued that Secretary of State Marco Rubio claims drug cartels and self-defense as legal justification for the first strike “Signs an immediate threat” To the country.
US officials said earlier this month the strike targeted Tren de Aragua, a Venezuelan gangster designated by the United States as a terrorist organization. And they showed More military strikes on drug targets It will come as the US is aiming for a “wage war” in the cartel.
Trump did not specify whether Tren de Aragua was also the target of Monday’s strike.
The Venezuelan government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported strike.
The Trump administration has specifically let go of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro due to the tragedy of illegal drugs in the US community.
Venezuelan president assaults
Maduro was denounced by the US government at a press conference earlier Monday, accusing the Trump administration of using drug trafficking as an excuse for military operations in South American countries that are intended to “blackmail and seek a change of administration.”
Maduro also refused to describe him as a weekend operation in which 18 Marines stormed Venezuelan fishing boats in the Caribbean.
“What were they looking for? Tuna? What were they looking for? A kilo of snap? He said. “They were looking for military cases. If the tuna fishing boys were armed and used weapons in Venezuela’s jurisdiction, then what extremists Warmangers wanted war in the Caribbean would have been seeking military cases.”
Rubio spoke to Fox News early Monday, reiterating that the US does not consider Maduro as a legitimate leader in Venezuela, but is the head of the drug cartel. Rubio is consistent Venezuela was depicted as traces of the communist ideology of the Western Hemisphere.
“We don’t have a cartel that runs governments, pretends to be or operates in our own hemisphere,” Rubio said.
The American chief diplomat said following the first military strike on a boat allegedly carrying drugs from Venezuela, Trump “will use all the elements of the US military and American power that target America.”
AP and others report boats I was turning around And when it was hit, it was back on the coast. But Rubio said Monday that he wasn’t sure if it was accurate or not.
“What needs to start happening is that some of these boats need to be blown up,” Rubio said. “We can’t touch them any more because all of a sudden they can’t live in a world where they make U-turns.”
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Reported by Jerusalem AP writer Matthew Lee and Washington’s Mary Claire Jaronick.
