Topline
President Donald Trump resisted the idea of making a declaration of war against Venezuelan drug cartels being targeted by U.S. military strikes, telling reporters Thursday “we’re gonna kill them” as the legality of the strikes, which have not been approved by Congress, has come into question.
Trump commented on strikes against drug cartels Thursday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
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Key Facts
When asked by a reporter why he would not ask Congress for a declaration of war against the cartels, Trump said, “I don’t think we’re going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war, I think we’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country.”
The U.S. military has carried out at least nine strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean against alleged drug boats since September that have killed about 39 people and left few survivors.
“We’re gonna kill them, you know? They’re gonna be like, dead,” Trump added.
The president also claimed reports about U.S. B-1 bombers being sent near Venezuela were “false,” though he said land strikes against Venezuelan drug cartels are “going to be next.”
The Trump administration said early this month the U.S. is in a formal “armed conflict” with drug cartels and that alleged smugglers are “unlawful combatants,” labeling Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua crime organization and other adjacent gangs as foreign terrorists.
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What To Watch For
Trump said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will go to Congress to discuss ongoing military operations against the alleged drug smugglers, adding, “We’ll go, we’re going to tell them what we’re going to do and I think they’re gonna probably like it except for the radical left lunatics.”
Key Background
Bipartisan concerns have materialized over the sea strikes. Republican Sens. Rand Paul, Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, voted alongside Democrats in a failed resolution that aimed to require the U.S. military to receive congressional approval before attacking “any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities.” The “armed conflict” declared by the Trump administration, according to international law, allows the lawful killing of enemy combatants even if they do not pose a threat, as well as the ability to indefinitely detain them. “Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we kill before we kill them?” Paul said this month. “To know what evidence exists of their guilt?”
Further Reading
Trump Considering Land Strikes Against Venezuelan Drug Cartels Following Sea Assaults (Forbes)
U.S. Strikes Another Boat Off Venezuela, Killing 6 (Forbes)