The vice president and a Republican senator clashed on a US military strike that killed 11 people on suspicion of a Caribbean drug ship.
Trump says US troops killed 11 cartel suspects on a Caribbean strike
President Donald Trump has announced that the US forces killed 11 Tren de Aragua members on a naval strike during the escalation of their counter-drug operations.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s claim to kill drug smugglers has sparked a social media dispute between Vice President J.D. Vance and GOP Sen. Rand Paul.
The subject of the conflict was the navy that sunk a Venezuelan ship into the Caribbean on September 2nd. The military said it carried 11 members of the crime gangster Tren de Aragua smuggling drug. Trump said on social media that he ordered a strike to prevent drugs from reaching the US
“Killing the members of the cartel that poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military,” Vance wrote on social media on September 6th.
But when Trump administration’s online critic Brian Krassenstein responded by calling the murder of civilians without “war crimes” and without “war crimes,” the vice president went low.
“I don’t give you an S—what you call it,” Vance replied.
“It’s mean,” says Rand Paul.
Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, took up the Gauntlet. He questioned how Vance could justify killing people accused of crimes without trial.
“He wondered what would happen if the accused were executed immediately without trial or representative?” Paul asked. “What a sleazy and thoughtless feeling to praise someone for killing without trial.”
The Pentagon has not released any information publicly justifying the destruction of the boat. The Navy and Coast Guard have traditionally intercepted suspected drug smuggling at the sea.
However, the Pentagon warned on September 4 that the country should not thwart anti-drug and counter-terrorism operations after two Venezuelan military aircraft flew near naval vessels.
Trump said on social media that strikes should serve as a warning to other potential smugglers.
“Please make this a useful notification to anyone considering bringing drugs into the United States,” Trump said. “Be careful!”
