Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., sharply criticized fellow Republicans over recent U.S. boat strikes near Venezuela, arguing that GOP lawmakers who describe themselves as “pro-life” have shown little concern for the people killed in the attacks.
Speaking on “The Joe Rogan Experience” in an episode released Tuesday, Paul said many Republicans have accepted the Trump administration’s claim—offered without public evidence—that those on the boats were trafficking fentanyl, and he condemned what he described as a rush to judgment.
“I look at my colleagues who say they’re pro-life, and they value God’s inspiration in life, but they don’t give a s— about these people in the boats,” Paul said. “Are they terrible people in the boats? I don’t know. They’re probably poor people in Venezuela and Colombia.”
Paul also took aim at the idea that the strikes should be justified simply because the vessels were labeled as drug-running operations.
“We’re doing it and everybody just says, ‘Oh, well, they’re drug dealers,’” he said, adding that he believes the presumption of innocence has been abandoned in the debate.
He challenged the administration’s trafficking narrative on practical grounds, insisting the boats could not realistically reach the United States. Paul argued that the drugs involved were more likely destined for other markets.
“They’re not even coming here,” Paul said. “They’re going to these islands in the south part of the Caribbean. The cocaine—and it’s not fentanyl at all—the cocaine’s going to Europe.”
He emphasized the distances involved and said small, outboard-powered boats would require repeated refueling to make a trip to the U.S. mainland.
Paul went further, accusing the administration of using the maritime strikes as political and legal groundwork for broader action against Venezuela—specifically, an operation aimed at arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“It’s all been a pretense for arresting Maduro,” Paul said. “So, we have to set up the predicate. We got to show you we care about drugs.”
Last week, Paul helped advance a Senate measure designed to curb President Trump’s ability to carry out additional military action against Venezuela. Paul has argued that striking a country and moving to capture its leader is clearly an act of war—one that requires congressional authorization.
“I think bombing a capital and removing the head of state is, by all definitions, war,” Paul told reporters ahead of the procedural vote. “Does this mean we have carte blanche that the president can make the decision any time, anywhere, to invade a foreign country and remove people that we’ve accused of a crime?”
The resolution could receive a final vote in the Senate later this week, though its prospects are uncertain in the House, even with some Republican support.
Paul has repeatedly warned that such strikes risk killing people without due process and could sweep up innocent civilians. He has also pointed to prior Coast Guard data indicating that a meaningful share of vessels stopped on suspicion of trafficking are ultimately found not to be involved.
On Rogan’s show, Paul said he worries the logic used to justify the Venezuela strikes could be applied elsewhere—claiming the administration may set its sights on Mexico next.
“They want to do that next. They want to bomb Mexico,” Paul said.
Trump has argued that cartels have effectively seized control in parts of Mexico and has suggested the U.S. may need to take more aggressive action, saying Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is “very frightened” of the cartels.
