President Donald Trump asserted Wednesday that he has the legal authority to launch military strikes against drug cartels in international waters, but indicated he may seek congressional approval for any operations conducted on land.
“We do – we have legal authority,” Trump stated when questioned about the matter in the Oval Office.
The president’s comments followed an announcement from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that the U.S. military had struck a boat in the Eastern Pacific the previous day, marking the eighth known strike on a vessel suspected of drug smuggling.
The operations have drawn criticism from South American leaders. Colombian President Gustavo Petro recently accused the U.S. of killing an innocent Colombian national and has questioned the legality of the strikes.
Trump defended the actions, claiming, “Every one of those boats that gets knocked out is saving 25,000 American lives.” He framed the issue as a national security threat, stating that drug trafficking gives him the necessary legal authority. “They killed 300,000 people last year. Drugs, these drugs coming in, they killed 300,000 Americans last year,” he said.
Last week, Trump acknowledged authorizing the CIA to conduct covert action in Venezuela and said the U.S. was considering strikes on Venezuelan territory. On Wednesday, however, he suggested an openness to informing Congress about future land-based missions.
“If we do by land, we may go back to Congress,” he said. “We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we come to the land. We don’t have to do that, but I think Marco, I’d like to do that,” he added, referring to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
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