Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a libertarian Republican, on Sunday said the Trump administration is carrying out “extrajudicial killings” by striking alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Paul said no evidence has been presented to Congress to justify the president’s military operations against vessels that officials say are transporting narcotics with the aim of reaching the U.S.
And even with a briefing, Paul said, Congress must authorize any war carried out by the U.S. military.
“A briefing is not enough to overcome the Constitution. The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it,” Paul said in the interview, noting that “to be clear, we’ve got no information. I’ve been invited to no briefing.”
Paul recognized that during war, there are often “lower rules for engagement,” and “people do sometimes get killed without due process.”
“But the drug war… or the crime war has typically been something we do through law enforcement. And so far, they have alleged that these people are drug dealers. No one said their name. No one said what evidence. No one said whether they’re armed. And we’ve had no evidence presented.”
“So, at this point, I would call them extrajudicial killings. And this is akin to what China does, to what Iran does with drug dealers. They summarily execute people without presenting evidence to the public. So, it’s wrong,” Paul added.
The U.S. military, under Trump’s direction, has carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in both the Caribbean Sea, off the coast of Venezuela, and more recently in the East Pacific.
The U.S. military has killed at least 43 people, according to the Trump administration, since the military began its effort. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said early Friday that the military conducted its tenth strike since its campaign began.
