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The military said in a statement on social media that the
strikes targeted “designated terrorist organizations,” killing
three people in the first vessel, two in the second boat and
three in the third boat. It didn't provide evidence of their
alleged drug trafficking but posted a video of a boat moving
through water before exploding.
President Donald Trump has justified the attacks as a necessary
escalation to stem the flow of drugs into the United States and
asserted the U.S. is engaged in an “armed conflict” with drug
cartels. But the Trump administration is facing increasing
scrutiny from lawmakers over the boat strike campaign, which has
killed at least 95 people in 25 known strikes since early
September, including a follow-up strike that killed two
survivors clinging to the wreckage of a boat after the first
hit.
The latest boat strikes come on the eve of briefings on Capitol
Hill for all members of Congress as questions mount over the
Trump administration’s military campaign.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio
and other top national security officials are expected to
provide closed-door briefings for lawmakers in the House and
Senate.
The campaign has ramped up pressure on Venezuelan President
Nicolás Maduro, who has been charged with narcoterrorism in the
U.S. In a sharp escalation last week, U.S. forces seized a
sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration has accused
of smuggling illicit crude. Maduro has insisted the real purpose
of the U.S. military operations is to force him from office.
The U.S. military has built up its largest presence in the
region in decades and launched a series of deadly strikes on
alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern
Pacific Ocean. Trump says land attacks are coming soon but has
not offered any details on location.
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