Trump administration announces 17th deadly strike on an alleged drug boat

WASHINGTON AP Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday communicated another deadly U S strike on a boat he explained was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea The attack Thursday killed three people aboard the vessel Hegseth stated bringing the death toll from the Trump administration s campaign in South American waters up to at least people in at least strikes Hegseth posted a -second video of the strike on social media and wrote As we ve reported before vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their poisoning of the American people stops He claimed the vessel was operated by a Designated Terrorist Organization President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by saying the United States is in armed conflict with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organizations The administration has not provided evidence or more details Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed a small group of congressional leaders Wednesday on the growing military campaign providing one of the first high-level glimpses into the legal rationale and strategy behind the strikes Republicans emerged either staying silent or expressing confidence in the campaign Democrats explained Congress demands more information on how the strikes are conducted and the legal justification for actions that critics say violate international and U S law by killing alleged drug middlemen on the high seas On Thursday Senate Republicans voted to reject ordinance that would have put a check on Trump s ability to launch an attack against Venezuela as Democrats pressed Congress to take a stronger role in Trump s high-stakes campaign against President Nicol s Maduro