US strikes another alleged drug boat as officials weigh Venezuela attack

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00:00Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says U.S. forces struck an alleged drug boat in the eastern Pacific

00:05at President Donald Trump's direction, killing two men in international waters.

00:10Hegseth posted an unclassified clip and said that, quote,

00:15intelligence confirmed the vessel was moving narcotics along a known trafficking route.

00:20He provided no other evidence.

00:24This was the 16th publicly announced attack since early September,

00:28bringing the death toll to at least 67 in the Caribbean and Pacific, according to the New York Times.

00:35Use of force experts quoted by the Times say the killings are illegal

00:39because the U.S. military may not intentionally target civilians absent an imminent threat.

00:45The administration argues the strikes are lawful because the president has determined

00:49the U.S. is in an armed conflict with drug cartels.

00:53On Capitol Hill, criticism is bipartisan.

00:56Lawmakers say the White House has not shown enough evidence the boats carry drugs

01:01and argue the president needs congressional authorization.

01:06The White House says Secretary of State Marco Rubio will brief the bipartisan gang of 12 leaders Wednesday,

01:12its ninth such briefing.

01:14The president's made it very clear.

01:16If senators want to understand the administration's operations against narco drug traffickers,

01:21we are very happy to speak with them about that and we will continue to do so.

01:25But we've been incredibly transparent.

01:27Trump has been blunt about the approach.

01:29I think we're just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country.

01:34Several strikes have occurred off Venezuela as the Pentagon moves the Gerald Ford carrier strike group toward the Caribbean.

01:40Separately, the administration is reportedly developing options for covert operations inside Venezuela.

01:47And the Justice Department has lawyers that are drafting new legal guidance to support any expansion.

01:53For more unbiased updates, download the Straight Arrow News app or go to san.com.

01:57For more unbiased updates, visit www.fema.gov.au