"The White House has trumpeted a series of lethal strikes three and counting against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean Sea. After the first one, President Trump posted online a black-and-white video that shows a fast-boat speeding through open water before bursting into flames. He said 11 suspected members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua were killed, but the administration has not provided any evidence to support its assertions."
"After the second strike, Trump was asked by reporters about providing evidence that the boat was indeed carrying drugs and posed a threat to the U.S. "We have proof. All you have to do is look at the cargo, it's spattered all over the ocean. Big bags of cocaine and fentanyl all over the place," he said. He added that the government also "recorded evidence" but he did not elaborate."
"Targeting cartels with law enforcement alone has failed to destroy them, he said, adding that the U.S. needs to bring other tools to bear. "In order to eliminate them, and that's the key eliminate the drug trade and eliminate the pouring into the country of narcotics we have to use authorities at the Department of War and the intelligence community to go after the threat like we did terrorists when we were manhunting them," Patel said."
FBI Director Kash Patel endorsed labeling drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and urged treating narcotraffickers like al-Qaida by employing military and intelligence tools. He said law enforcement alone has failed to destroy cartels and called for Department of War and intelligence authorities to manhunt and eliminate the drug trade and narcotics entering the country. The administration has incorporated elements of the post-9/11 military-strike blueprint and has carried out at least three lethal strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. President Trump released a video and claimed casualties and recorded proof, but the government has not produced supporting evidence.
Read at www.npr.org
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