Democratic senators on the Intelligence Committee say they were not informed in advance about this week’s U.S. strike on a Venezuelan vessel. The Trump administration has described the operation as part of its fight against drug trafficking in the region.
Sen. Mark Kelly told Axios that while he supports stopping drugs from entering the U.S., he is concerned about how such missions are carried out. “President Donald Trump will be gone at some point, and we should not put our service members in a position where they’re doing things outside of legal boundaries,” Kelly said.
Sen. Chris Coons, a senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also said he was not briefed, calling the situation “concerning.” By contrast, Republican Sen. James Risch, who serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee, confirmed he did receive a briefing.
Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno defended the action and said Congress didn’t need prior notice. “They were bringing drugs that were going to kill Americans, so we killed them first,” he said. “We’re going to be doing a lot more of that.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that stance, saying the administration will “use the full power of America and the full might of the U.S. to take on and eradicate these drug cartels no matter where they’re operating from and no matter how long they’ve acted with impunity.”
Tensions rose further Thursday night when two Venezuelan jets flew close to a U.S. Navy ship. The Pentagon called the move “highly provocative” and an attempt to interfere with counter-narcotics operations. “The cartel running Venezuela is strongly advised not to pursue any further effort to obstruct, deter, or interfere with counter-narcotics and counter-terror operations carried out by the U.S. military,” the department warned.
Human rights groups are also raising concerns. Amnesty International said there are “serious doubts about its legality.” Daphne Eviatar, who directs Security with Human Rights at the group’s U.S. office, said, “The U.S. must prove in each attack that it only employed intentional lethal force when strictly inevitable and seeking to protect life.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. is increasing its military presence in the Caribbean. According to Reuters, 10 fighter jets are expected to be deployed to a base in Puerto Rico by late next week to support operations against drug cartels.
