Three 'narcoterrorists' were obliterated at sea on Donald Trump's watch this week, but there's question marks over whether his military strikes are legal.
It's no secret; Trump has been pretty vocal about battling the drug epidemic in the US, even claiming recently that '300 million people died last year from drugs', which baffled some.
Now, sharing footage of the latest strike on 'narcoterrorists' via Truth Social, the US president captioned it with a lengthy explanation of why they apparently deserved to die.
In this unclassified clip, a speedboat is seen cutting through international waters for 30 seconds before a devastating detonation stops it in its tracks.
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A drone camera lingers on the fiery aftermath, with nobody onboard surviving.
"On my Orders, the Secretary of War ordered a lethal kinetic strike on a vessel affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization conducting narcotrafficking in the USSOUTHCOM area of responsibility," read Trump's social media statement.
"Intelligence confirmed the vessel was trafficking illicit narcotics, and was transiting along a known narcotrafficking passage enroute to poison Americans. The strike killed 3 male narcoterrorists aboard the vessel, which was in international waters.
"No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. STOP SELLING FENTANYL, NARCOTICS, AND ILLEGAL DRUGS IN AMERICA, AND COMMITTING VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM AGAINST AMERICANS!!!"
This is not the first operation of its kind.
Just a few weeks ago, Trump revealed that the US military had completed a successful attack on alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua transporting drugs.
The POTUS claimed this vessel was in international waters and bringing narcotics to US territory. Eleven 'terrorists' transporting the drugs lost their lives during the operation.
Senate Democrats Adam Schiff (of California) and Tim Kaine (Virginia) previously reacted to this deadly strike actioned by their country's 79-year-old political leader.
Schiff and Kaine filed a joint resolution calling for the US to stop engaging in hostilities that haven't been authorised by Congress (per The New York Times).
"While we share with the executive branch the imperative of preventing and deterring drugs from reaching our shores, blowing up boats without any legal justification risks dragging the United States into another war and provoking unjustified hostilities against our own citizens," said Schiff in a statement.
"This unauthorised and illegal use of our military must stop."
Kaine, meanwhile, pleaded with Congress to reclaim its authority over war matters.
"President Trump has no legal authority to launch strikes or use military force in the Caribbean or elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere," he argued, while pointing out that the Trump administration has refused to supply details about these strikes to Congress, including why it was necessary to put US military staff at risk.
Topics: Donald Trump, Drugs, Politics, Social Media, Terrorism, US News
Dan Seddon