The United States military eliminated 11 people in a boat in the middle of the sea, who were suspected to be carrying hard drugs from Venezuela.
President Trump made the announcement, claiming the occupants of the boat were carrying large amounts of narcotics and were bringing them into the US, and that they were members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
The air strike was filmed and released to the public. Video below:
The hit comes shortly after Trump designated international drug cartels trafficking narcotics into the US as terrorists and approved the military to target and eliminate them.
The declaration sparked a chaotic debate in the Mexican parliament after the opposition party accused the ruling party of trying to allow a US intervention in their land to eradicate the criminals. The debate ended in a brawl between PRI leader Alejandro Moreno and the Senate president from the Morena ruling party, Gerardo Fernández Noroña.
For Venezuela, Trump accuses its president, Nicolas Maduro, of being behind the Tren de Aragua gang. His actions to eliminate the occupants of the boat, instead of deterring them or arresting them, together with their exhibits, sends a stern warning to cross-border drug traffickers to completely stay off US territory.
However, the president’s action was also faulted by critics who claimed that he went against the rule of law. According to Adam Isacson, who heads the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a human rights group, lethal force against a civilian vessel on international waters that was not done in self-defence is a war crime.
With the first attack by the US on international drug cartels executed, more might follow after the deployment of 7 warships and a submarine, which will bring about 4,500 US military men patrolling the Caribbean Sea.
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