THE WASHINGTON POST – The U.S. military killed six alleged drug smugglers Tuesday off the coast of Venezuela, President Donald Trump said.
Writing on social media, Trump said that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had ordered the strike “under my Standing Authorities as Commander-in-Chief.”
Trump claimed the six men killed were “narcoterrorists” affiliated with what he said was a designated terrorist organization, though he did not name it.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 87,000 overdose deaths for the year ending in September 2024, an almost 27 percent decline from the previous year.”
The strike hit a vessel in international waters “just off” Venezuela’s coast, Trump said. In a video taken from the air accompanying his social media post, a boat can be seen idling before being hit and bursting into flames.
The operations have killed 27 people, the Trump administration has said. It has not disclosed evidence verifying that the vessels were carrying drugs, that the people aboard them were confirmed criminals or which country they came from.
Trump has argued that he has the legal authority to conduct these strikes because he has determined that the United States is in “armed conflict” with Latin American drug cartels.
Some in Congress have pushed back against the president’s claims …
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Senate votes down war powers resolution aimed at blocking Trump’s strikes on alleged drug boats
By Caitlin Yilek, October 8, 2025
CBS News, Washington — Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked an effort aimed at preventing continued U.S. strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats off the coast of Venezuela.
Democrats forced a vote on the issue under the War Powers Act. In a 48-51 vote, the effort failed to garner enough support to move forward.
Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with nearly all Democrats in favor, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania joined Republicans in opposing it.
The resolution, led by Sens. Adam Schiff of California and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would have blocked the U.S. military from engaging in hostilities with “any non-state organization engaged in the promotion, trafficking, and distribution of illegal drugs and other related activities” without congressional authorization.
“There has been no authorization to use force by Congress in this way,” Schiff said Wednesday, saying the strikes risk escalating into a full-blown conflict with Venezuela. “I feel it is plainly unconstitutional.”
The strikes in the Caribbean Sea have prompted bipartisan backlash, with lawmakers questioning their legality. Congress, which has the sole authority under the Constitution to declare war, has not authorized the use of military force against drug cartels … read more.
