Washington – President Trump said Wednesday that he would support the release of any footage of him multiple strikes in one the alleged Venezuelan drug cartel from September 2ndwhile supporting the “decision to expel the boats”.
The Trump administration and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have come under particular scrutiny in recent days, The Washington Post reported that the US military attacked a ship in the Caribbean, although they were apparently alive. CBS News has not independently confirmed that they are alive, but the White House has confirm the ship was hit several times on September 2.
“I don’t know what they have, but whatever they have, we will release it, no problem,” the president said of the strike footage.
A reporter asked the President of the Oval Office Hegseth, Adm. Frank Bradley. or whether others should be punished, if the survivors cling to the ship. The administration has suggested that Bradley, the commander of the operation, ordered the second strike and had the right to do so.
The president responded, “I think you’ll find this is a war,” saying drugs smuggled into the United States have killed millions.
“I think there’s a very receptive ear to do what they’re doing, to get those boats out,” Mr. Trump added.
The president was pressed again if he accepts the decision to kill the survivors, if that happened.
“No, I support the decision to expel the boats,” he said.
On Sunday, the president told reporters on Air Force One that he “didn’t want” a second strike on board. But since then, the administration has defended Hegseth and his leadership.
On Wednesday the president also repeated a threat he made earlier this week land strikes in Venezuela it can start soon, as there is a lot of tension with President Nicolás Maduro.
“Very soon, we will also start doing it on land,” he said. “You know, the land is much easier… And we know the routes they take. We know everything about them. We know where they live. We know where the bad ones live. And we’ll start that soon.”
The president has signaled for months that he might expand his administration’s maritime strikes to include alleged drug targets on land, and told reporters in October that he is “absolutely ready” for land strikes. If the president steps up to order strikes on targets in Latin American countries, it would significantly expand the Trump administration’s anti-drug operations. they have gone up More than 80 people were killed in 20 suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and Pacific.
Ship strikes are already controversial. Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans have argued that Mr. Trump is acting without legal authority and has not provided enough evidence that the boats were carrying drugs. Administration he said The US is in an “international armed conflict” with drug cartels, which it has designated as a terrorist group.