US kills 6 people in strike on boat accused of carrying drugs near Venezuela, Trump says

WASHINGTON AP The United States struck another small boat accused of carrying drugs in the waters off Venezuela killing six people President Donald Trump commented Tuesday Those who died in the strike were aboard the vessel and no U S forces were harmed the president declared in a social media post It s the fifth deadly strike in the Caribbean as Trump s administration has asserted it s treating alleged drug traffickers as unlawful combatants who must be met with military force Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered the strike Tuesday morning declared Trump who circulated a video of it as he has in the past Hegseth later shared the video in a post on X The black-and-white video indicated a small boat that appeared stationary on the water Seconds into the video it is struck by a projectile from overhead and explodes The boat is then seen floating aflame for several seconds Trump mentioned the strike was conducted in international waters and intelligence verified the vessel was trafficking narcotics was associated with narcoterrorist networks and was on a known drug trafficking journey The Pentagon did not without delay respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking more information on the latest boat strike but one defense official certified that the details in the social media post were accurate The official was not authorized to speak publicly on the strike and spoke on condition of anonymity What could the long-term impact be James Story former U S ambassador for the Venezuela Affairs Unit from to served under Trump s first term and under President Joe Biden He notified The Associated Press that ongoing American strikes on boats in the Caribbean may ultimately hinder counternarcotics efforts By ruffling the feathers of longtime American allies in the region like Colombia Story reported the strikes likely hurt our ability to gather intelligence from allies to crack down on drug trafficking organizations If they believe that the intelligence they provide us will outcome in what selected could describe as an extrajudicial killing and nobody here is sympathetic to the plight of drug traffickers that puts us in a pretty bad spot Story disclosed It puts us in contravention with international law and it undermines our ability to work in the hemisphere Meanwhile frustration with the Trump administration has been growing on Capitol Hill among members of both major political parties Chosen Republicans are seeking more information from the White House on the legal justification and details of the strikes Democrats contend the strikes violate U S and international law The Senate last week voted on a war powers resolution that would have barred the Trump administration from conducting the strikes unless Congress specifically authorized them but it failed to pass In a memo to Congress that was obtained by The Associated Press the Trump administration disclosed it had determined that the United States is in a non-international armed conflict with these designated terrorist organizations and that Trump directed the Pentagon to conduct operations against them pursuant to the law of armed conflict The Trump administration has yet to provide underlying evidence to lawmakers proving that the boats targeted by the U S military were in fact carrying narcotics according to two U S officers familiar with the matter who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity Congressman says Trump s authority in this matter is limitedCalifornia Sen Adam Schiff a Democrat who last week pushed the vote on the Venezuela resolution commented in a post on X that the president s authority to respond to an armed attack or the threat of one was limited and did not apply These continued strikes killed to date exposure getting the U S into a full fledged war Schiff announced He announced he would push for another vote if the strikes continue The strikes followed a buildup of U S maritime forces in the Caribbean unlike any seen in latest times Following Tuesday s strike Jorge Rodr guez president of Venezuela s National Assembly and a close ally of President Nicol s Maduro called on the press to combat U S lies that are being used to justify a feasible invasion The administration had convened foreign media and dozens of leaders of local media outlets for Rodr guez s message The objective is not the search for the truth and much less fighting drug trafficking Rodr guez explained It s about looking for the way to have an excuse for aggression We re not asking you to make up anything but rather to defend the truth he commented