Trump says he may go to Congress to strike drug cartels on land
President Trump said Wednesday the administration may go to Congress for authorization to strike drug cartels that are smuggling narcotics on land.
“We will hit them very hard when they come in by land. And they haven’t experienced that yet, but now we’re totally prepared to do that. We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when [they] come to the land,” the president said at the White House, sitting alongside NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte.
Since early September, the U.S. military has been striking alleged drug boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing at least 32 people.
The campaign is part of the administration’s pressure against Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, whom the president and his allies view as an “illegitimate” leader. Trump has raised the prospect of striking Venezuela on land and has recently confirmed that he has authorized the CIA to conduct operations in the Latin American country.
The administration has beefed up its military presence near Venezuela, deploying Navy ships and Marines in the region.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said earlier Wednesday that two “narco-terrorists” were killed in a strike against an alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific, the first such strike on that side of the continent.
The strike, which took place late Tuesday, is at least the eighth blow against alleged drug-smuggling vessels in Latin America since early September.
The strikes have prompted pushback from Democrats on Capitol Hill and at least one GOP lawmaker, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), arguing the escalation is illegal and that Congress must provide authorization.
On Wednesday, Trump argued the administration has legal authority when it comes to strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats.
“We have legal authority. We’re allowed to do that, and if we do by land, we may go back to Congress, but we have, this is a national security problem,” the president said. “They killed 300,000 people last year. Drugs, these drugs coming in. They killed 300,000 Americans last year, and that gives you legal authority.”
Earlier this month, Democratic Sens. Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Tim Kaine (Va.) forced a vote on a measure that would stop the U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats, but the resolution failed in a 48-51 vote.
“I will say that there are very few boats traveling on the water right now, actually, that includes fishing boats, that includes any other kind of boat, but there are very few boats traveling on the water. So now they’ll come in by land to a lesser extent, and they will be hit on land also,” Trump said Wednesday at the White House.