WASHINGTON: A US strike on a ship off the coast of Venezuela on Tuesday (Oct 14) killed six suspected drug traffickers, President Donald Trump mentioned, the newest such operation in recent weeks because the US builds up army forces within the area.
The strike is the latest instance of Trump’s efforts to make use of US army energy in new, and sometimes legally contentious, methods, from deploying active-duty US troops in Los Angeles to finishing up counter-terrorism strikes towards drug trafficking suspects.
In a submit on Fact Social, Trump mentioned the strike had been carried out towards a delegated terrorist organisation, however he didn’t present any particulars on which group.
“Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking narcotics, was related to illicit narcoterrorist networks,” Trump mentioned, with out offering proof.
A roughly 30-second video, which Trump posted, appeared to indicate a stationary vessel in a physique of water being hit with a projectile earlier than exploding.
The Pentagon just lately disclosed to Congress that Trump has decided the US is engaged in “a non-international armed battle” with drug cartels.
Some former army legal professionals say the authorized explanations given by the Trump administration for killing suspected drug traffickers at sea as a substitute of apprehending them fail to fulfill necessities beneath the legislation of battle.
