President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expressed their support for the military commander responsible for sanctioning a series of contentious strikes on Venezuelan drug-smuggling vessels. The remarks came amid mounting criticism and heightened scrutiny from Congress over the administration’s aggressive actions in the Caribbean against suspected narco-terrorists.

Under Trump’s administration, more than 20 strikes have been carried out on suspected drug-trafficking boats, resulting in over 80 fatalities. The president, when questioned during a Cabinet meeting about a particularly intense operation in September that involved multiple airstrikes, defended the actions despite some critics labeling them a “war crime.”

“We’re taking those son of a b****es out,” Trump declared, emphasizing a strong stance against illegal drug operations. He also criticized former Vice President Joe Biden, accusing him of allowing unchecked and unvetted individuals, as well as a surge in drug trafficking, into the country.

While Hegseth was tasked with addressing specific inquiries about the authorization of the subsequent September strike, he affirmed that Admiral Frank Bradley, the commanding officer, acted appropriately in deciding to proceed with the additional bombardment. This assertion aimed to dispel doubts about the legitimacy of the military’s actions in these operations.

‘[Biden] allowed them into our country, totally unvetted, totally unchecked. But he also allowed drugs to come in at record numbers.’

Letting Hegseth answer detailed questions on who authorized the follow-up strike in September, the secretary noted the commanding officer, Admiral Frank Bradley, was well within his lane in ordering a second bombardment. 

However, Democrats in Congress have likened the attack to a ‘war crime’ because, under international law, targeting the wounded is disallowed.  

‘How do you treat al Qaeda and ISIS? Do you arrest them and treat them, pat them on the head and say, Don’t do that again. Or you end the problem directly by taking a lethal, kinetic approach?’ Hegseth told reporters. 

President Donald Trump and Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth batted down concerns that a September strike on alleged Venezuelan narco-terrorists amounted to a war crime after the US authorized a follow-up strike on the vessel during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday

‘We’re taking those son of a b****es out,’ Trump said of the strikes on alleged narco-terrorist boats in the Caribbean 

The White House has regularly been posting declassified videos of the US military’s strikes on alleged narco-terrorists

Hegseth praised military professionals for the ‘deliberative … rigorous’ process that they undertook to make sure the boats were tied to terrorism.  

A report last Friday from the Washington Post claimed that Hegseth gave verbal orders to ensure there were no survivors – a claim that the Daily Mail has not verified and the White House strongly pushes back on. 

‘Admiral Bradley worked well within his authority and the law,’ while conducting the operation with multiple strikes, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday. 

The administration has claimed its strikes on the alleged drug boats are in defense of American citizens. 

Trump also opened the door to striking other countries that send drugs to the US. 

‘I want those boats taken out, and if we have to, we will attack on land also,’ he said.  ‘Anybody that’s doing that and selling it into our country is subject to attack … not just Venezuela.’

The Republican specifically noted how cocaine production in Colombia is still rampant and that drugs there are being sent to the US.  

Trump has decried how drugs like fentanyl and cocaine being sent into the US from Venezuela have resulted in thousands of drug overdose deaths. 

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been seen dancing to anti-war songs at his rallies while US forces gather in the Caribbean 

Estimates suggest a quarter of a million Americans have died from fentanyl-related overdoses since 2021. 

Still, one critique is that only a small portion of the fentanyl bound for the US actually originates in Venezuela. 

‘Fentanyl is not coming out of Venezuela. Fentanyl comes from Mexico,’ said Christopher Hernandez-Roy, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank in Washington, D.C., recently told NBC News. ‘What’s coming out of Venezuela is cocaine.’ 

The US has deployed nearly a dozen warships, a submarine, over 70 aircraft and 15,000 soldiers to the Caribbean in recent months.  

Meanwhile, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has been seen dancing to anti-war songs at his rallies, signifying he does not want conflict with the US.