(NewsNation) — The Trump administration is ramping up its fight with cartels and putting more pressure on Venezuela in its war on drugs.
The Pentagon recently launched a strike on an alleged Tren de Aragua boat that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said was involved in “illicit narcotics smuggling” and moving through a “known narco-trafficking route.” The strike killed six people on board, according to NewsNation affiliate The Hill.
This now marks the 10th boat strike, and brings the death toll from these strikes to 40.
Now, the USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy’s largest aircraft carrier, is headed to the region with a strike group. President Donald Trump has said the efforts so far have saved lives, saying that every boat that has been hit has saved 25,000 Americans.
A U.S. warship, the USS Gravely, docked in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday for a joint military exercise with the country’s defense forces. Both moves have caused growing concern for the potential of land strikes in Venezuela, which Trump has hinted at.
“We’re focused on South America, and we’re getting a real strong handle on South America in a lot of ways, including the fact that we don’t want their drugs,” Trump said.
Venezuela has reportedly been preparing its own armed forces in case a land strike could happen. The country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has also accused the U.S. government of “fabricating” a war.
The Trump administration has accused the people killed in these strikes as “narco-terrorists,” and that it has the right to issue strikes like these. However, lawmakers from both parties have been questioning the legal authority Trump has to make these decisions.
“This doesn’t make the United States more safe, this makes us less safe,” Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona said. “Starting a war against Venezuela over what is a law enforcement action does not make any sense.”
Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said the Trump administration has only alleged that the people killed in the boat strikes were narco-terrorists, but not brought forth any actual proof, and claimed they are “extrajudicial killings.”
“This is akin to what China and Iran does, summarily executing people without presenting evidence to the public,” Paul said.
The administration has said they do have the intelligence that indicates there were drugs on board the boats that were struck.
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