In a post on his Truth Social platform, U.S. President Donald Trump vigorously defended the United States' Tuesday, September 2 military attack on a boat in the Caribbean. Trump claims that the boat was operated by members of Venezuela's infamous Tren de Aragua gang and contained drugs that were bound for the U.S.
"Earlier this morning, on my Orders, U.S. Military Forces conducted a kinetic strike against positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists in the SOUTHCOM area of responsibility. TDA is a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, operating under the control of Nicolas Maduro, responsible for mass murder, drug trafficking, sex trafficking, and acts of violence and terror across the United States and Western Hemisphere," Trump wrote in his unique style of oddly placed capital letters. "The strike occurred while the terrorists were at sea in International waters transporting illegal narcotics, heading to the United States. The strike resulted in 11 terrorists killed in action. No U.S. Forces were harmed in this strike. Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!"
But according to a high-ranking Pentagon insider interviewed by The Intercept on condition of anonymity, the attack was illegal.
READ MORE: 'Never been this bad': Young MAGA influencers say their income is 'tanking' due to Trump
The Pentagon official told The Intercept: "The U.S. is now directly targeting civilians. Drug traffickers may be criminals but they aren't combatants. When Trump fired the military's top lawyers, the rest saw the writing on the wall — and instead of being a critical firebreak, they are now a rubber stamp complicit in this crime."
That source isn't the only Intercept interviewee who believes that Trump had no business ordering a military attack on that boat.
Attorney Todd Huntley — who was a legal adviser to U.S. government officials on counterterrorism missions in the past — told The Intercept: “Tren de Aragua being designated as a foreign terrorist organization is a purely domestic law enforcement designation. It offers no authority for the military to use deadly force. Under international law, there's no way this even gets close to being a legitimate use of force."
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) contends that the War on Drugs has been a failure and cites the September 2 boat bombing as the most recent example of a flawed policy.
READ MORE: 'He was an FBI informant': Mike Johnson makes stunning admission about Trump
Omar told The Intercept: "The U.S. posture towards the eradication of drugs has caused immeasurable damage across our hemisphere. It has led to massive forced displacement, environmental devastation, violence, and human rights violations. What it has not done is any damage whatsoever to narcotrafficking or to the cartels. It has been a dramatic, profound failure at every level. Trump and (Secretary of State Marco) Rubio's apparent solution, to make it even more militarized, is doomed to fail."
READ MORE: Busted: Susan Collins advanced Trump bill after receiving $2 million from billionaire
Read The Intercept's full article at this link.