Top House Democrat Calls for Hearing on Caribbean Strikes With Continued Lack of "Any Evidence" to Support Them

""President Trump and his administration continue to fail to answer pressing questions regarding the president's orders to carry out lethal U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean Sea," Smith said. "They have failed to demonstrate the legality of these strikes, provide transparency on the process used or even a list of cartels that have been designated as terrorist organizations.""

""We have also yet to see any evidence to support the president's unilateral determinations that these vessels or their activities posed imminent threats to the United States of America that warranted military force rather than law enforcement-led interdiction," Smith went on, per The New York Times."

"On Sunday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that the military had attacked another boat in the Caribbean. This brings the total death toll from publicly announced strikes to 32. The U.S. also detained two survivors of a strike last week before releasing them to their home countries of Ecuador and Colombia, the administration said."

Rep. Adam Smith called for a congressional hearing about U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean after the administration expanded targets to include Colombia and Venezuela. He said the administration has provided no evidence justifying the attacks or demonstrating legal authority for the strikes. He said there has been no transparency on the decision process or any list of cartels designated as terrorist organizations. He said there is no evidence that the vessels posed imminent threats that warranted military force instead of law-enforcement interdiction. The Defense Secretary announced another strike, bringing the publicly announced death toll to 32, and two detained survivors were returned to Ecuador and Colombia.

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