The U.S. military has been arrested in its 10th fatal strike on a production boat operating in a drug operation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday, blaming the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua Galm for operating the vessel.
In a social media post, Hegseth said the strike killed six people.
The pace of the strikes, which have now resulted in at least 43 deaths, has accelerated in recent days from one every few weeks in early September, when it began. In this two strikes this week were carried out in the eastern Pacific Ocean, expanding the area where the military began to be attacked.
In a black-and-white second video of the strike posted on social media, a small boat can be seen apparently sitting motionless where a small long projectile landed on it, causing an explosion. The video ends before the blast dies down enough for the remains of the boat to be seen again.
US President Donald Trump this month declared drug cartels illegal and said the US had an “armed conflict” with them.
Separately, the Pentagon announced on Friday that the US military is deploying an aircraft carrier in South American waters, in the latest build-up and build-up of military forces in the region.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was being deployed to “enhance and implement existing capabilities to disrupt narcotics trafficking and reduce and isolate [transnational criminal organizations]”said Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Pentagon.
Trump doesn’t care about getting Congress’s signature
Authorities often equate drug cartels with Islamic terrorist organizations. Trump described himself Thursday as the “Isis of the Western Hemisphere.”
“If you are a narco-terrorist drug trafficker in our hemisphere, we will treat you like we treat Al-Qaeda,” Hegseth said in his latest post.
“I think we’re going to kill people who bring drugs into our country, okay? We’re going to kill you, you know?– US President Donald Trump
When reporters asked Trump Thursday if he would ask Congress to declare war on international drug cartels, he said that was not the plan.
“I think we’re going to kill people who bring drugs into our country, okay? We’re going to kill you, you know,” Trump said, “Trump said,” Trump said. “
The new strike also came hours after the US military flew heavy bombers that reached the coast of Venezuela on Thursday. The flight was just the latest move in what has been a massive military buildup in the Caribbean Sea and waters off Venezuela that have fueled speculation that Trump will trump Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
‘The most dangerous difference’
Around the world, in addition to Venezuela, the leaders of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico have criticized the boat. The Canadian government has not officially commented.
Citizens of Colombia and Trinidad and citizens of Tobago said family members were killed in the strikes. They denied that their family members were involved in the drug trade.
What is President Donald Trump repeatedly attacking boats near Venezuela? Andrew Chang breaks threats The Trump Administration says it is responding to why Venezuela’s relationship with China could be one. Images provided by Getty Images, The Canadian Press and Reuters.
UN experts this week said in a statement that the strikes are ‘a serious threat to the management of cemeteries in peace and security in the Caribbean region. “
They were going to accept Trump’s reasoning in the military, but then:
Independent experts, appointed by the Human Rights Council, said the strikes violate the sovereignty of the South American country and the United States “” not to intervene in domestic affairs or to threaten to use armed force against another country.
A Democratic Senator is concerned about illegal orders
In Washington, Democrats en masse complained about the lack of information about the ropes of pets and boat occupants, or the luggage that was on board. It is also unclear whether any of the contraband on the boats was destined for the United States. According to experts in international drug traffic, Trinidad and Tobago, near the Venezuelan coast, is often a transit point for packages destined for Europe or West Africa.
Few Republicans have spoken publicly about their concerns, although Rand Paul of Kentucky has been vocal. Senate Majority Leader John Tune, meanwhile, has publicly supported the strikes.
The Republican-controlled Senate – voted down a Democratic-sponsored war resolution that would have required the President to seek approval from Congress before proceeding with military action.
Currently, Rodrigo Duterte is on trial at the International Court of Justice for his alleged involvement in the killing of drug dealers and smugglers while in the Philippines.
While the US does not recognize the power of the ICC, Arizona Sen Kelly said he is concerned about those who helped carry out the questionable orders. The statute of limitations can make it easier for years to find certain crimes in the US, the administration of the American military, and serious crimes that do not work at all.
“I’m worried about those little sailors, the planes, you know, you might know here, that did these kinetic strikes, and what this means for their future,” he said this week on MSBBC. “If they find out later that they did this without legal justification, it puts them at legal risk at some point.”
Kelly also said, given the circumstances, he wondered why Adm. Alvin Holsey decided to retire a year, two years ahead of schedule. A four-star Navy admiral is the head of our Southern Command, which oversees operations in Central and South America.
The strikes come as the two Trump organizations, and the Joe Biden administration in between, have received high marks from the justice system. Those include the drug-trafficking convictions of former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez and his brother, as well as top members of Mexico’s SINALOA Cartel.
While the Trump administration continues to show the interest of innocent citizens in any of the 10 ships, at the beginning it was reported to enter 17 relatives of members in Mexico.
