President Donald Trump on Monday said American forces had attacked and destroyed a second small boat purportedly carrying narcotics from Venezuela to the United States, killing three people whom he referred to, in a social media post, as “narcoterrorists.”
Writing on Truth Social, Trump said the “second kinetic strike” had been carried out on his orders against “positively identified, extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels and narcoterrorists” operating in the area of responsibility for the U.S. Southern Command.
“The Strike occurred while these confirmed narcoterrorists from Venezuela were in International Waters transporting illegal narcotics … headed to the U.S.,” he wrote.
Trump added that such “extremely violent drug trafficking cartels” are “a threat to U.S. National Security, Foreign Policy and vital U.S. interests” and stated that “3 male terrorists” were killed in the strike.
Continuing, the president said his administration was “hunting” anyone who is “transporting drugs that can kill Americans” and accused drug cartels of having wrought “DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES ON AMERICAN COMMUNITIES FOR DECADES, killing millions of American Citizens.”
The strike, which was captured by an American video camera with footage posted to Truth Social by the president, is the second such attack this month against a boat the Trump administration has claimed to be carrying drugs.
Earlier this month, U.S. forces struck a similar vessel carrying 11 people who the White House claimed were members of Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan gang which the Trump administration has designated as a foreign terrorist organization and has attempted to link to the Venezuelan government headed by dictator Nicolas Maduro.
The action drew condemnation from some members of Congress who stressed that the legislative branch has not authorized military action against Venezuela while citing longstanding statutory prohibitions against using the U.S. military for law enforcement purposes.
In a letter to the White House earlier this month, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and 24 other Democratic members of the upper chamber said the Trump administration has provided “no legitimate legal justification” for the strike and demanded more information from the administration on the situation and use of U.S. military power.
At least one Republican, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, has also suggested that Trump lacked the authority to order the strike.
The Trump administration has claimed self-defense as a legal justification for the strike, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio arguing the drug cartels “pose an immediate threat” to the nation. The U.S., which has designated Tren de Aragua as a terrorist organization, has indicated more military strikes on drug targets could be coming as it seeks to “wage war” on cartels.
“The President acted in line with the laws of armed conflict to protect our country from those trying to bring poison to our shores," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said in a statement justifying the initial strike earlier this month. "He is delivering on his promise to take on the cartels and eliminate these national security threats from murdering more Americans.”
The fact these bastards can do this with complete impunity is blood boiling. It’s utterly atrocious, and no one can do anything about it because who the hell is going to confront the US. Even if someone in the US itself got sick of all thus shit, all they’d accomplish is replacing one fascist nut job with another.
The slow work of revolution, of educating others and building some kind if response continually grates at me.
The fact that expressing my anger is counterintuitive makes it feel worse, because most Americans would see my fury as a sign to avoid anything to do with my political philosophy. Being forced to stay calm and collected and outwardly welcoming in order actually make a difference makes me feel like I’m going crazy.
Like I have to sit there and listen as someone doddles on about how “illegal” what Trump is doing is, and I’m just on pins and needles thinking, “Who fucking cares about legality?! He just killed a bunch of random people for no reason!!!”
Those peoples families now have to greive their loved ones. They gave to continue on tommarow knowing they’re partner, child, parent, sibling, relative, friend, etc, was ripped away from them by an act that may has well been random. Some fucking ghoul decided that they needed to posture to an audience of morons and those people’s family’s were sacrificed for the sake of it.
A mother is likely weeping for her child’s departure, and the only discussion being held in the perpetrators home is whether or not a piece of ragged old paper can be interpreted through a frame work that says making her grieve was technically legal.
I’m so sick of this. I’m sick of these monsters. I’m sick of living on a world that’s needlessly difficult to live. I’m sick of the alienation I feel towards human life that I need to shroud myself in if I want to be at all well adjusted in this asylum of a nation.
they surely know how deeply unpopular starting a random war in latin America would be, so in my view if they escalate this to a full on engagement it’s a clear sign that they don’t plan on even entertaining the possibility of leaving power
I’m expecting the “no place for political violence” people to put out a statement condemning this political violence shortly.
He resents Venezuelan fishermen catching his failed coup back during Trump1 so much that he’s going to try to sink the whole fleet
Not that I think this isn’t something the US would do but:
Why does the video of the incident look so fake? The black borders disappear as soon as the explosion happens and it cuts out the start of the explosion. The way the camera refocuses on the boat looks like something out of an analogue horror video - I swear the ocean current is moving in a different direction afterwards too (hard to tell).
Someone more knowledgeable than me able to clue me in? Does this footage look off or am I just crazy?
