WASHINGTON, D.C. (WCIV) — U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham offered a full-throated defense of the Trump administration’s boat strike campaign on Tuesday following a classified briefing from Secretaries Marco Rubio and Pete Hegseth.
President Donald Trump’s top cabinet officials overseeing national security were on Capitol Hill defending the United States’ deadly boat strikes in international waters near Venezuela. The meeting left several lawmakers questioning the broader goals of the campaign, according to reports from The Associated Press. However, Graham was not one of them.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we have the legal authority to blow up these boats, interdict these boats,” Graham said. “The least of my concerns is this frigging video. Release it. Make your own decisions. This is lawful. I have every confidence that what they’re doing is no different than what Bush did.”
READ MORE | “US strikes 3 more alleged drug boats, killing 8 ‘narco-terrorists,’ military says.”
Rubio and Hegseth defended the boat campaign, going as far as saying it had prevented drugs from reaching American shores.
According to the AP, Rubio told reporters the campaign is a “counter drug mission” that is “focused on dismantling the infrastructure of these terrorist organizations that are operating in our hemisphere, undermining the security of Americans, killing Americans, poisoning Americans.”
Multiple reports suggest lawmakers have been uniquely concerned with the Sept. 2 attack on two survivors. Lawmakers are attempting to analyze the rationale for the broader U.S. military buildup in the region that increasingly appears pointed at Venezuela.
READ MORE | “Hegseth refuses to release full video of boat strike that killed survivors in Caribbean.”
Graham, for his part, came out directly saying he wants to see the government in Venezuela change.
“[Nicolás] Maduro is not a legitimate president. He’s actually the head of one of these terrorist organizations, and I am glad that we’re taking him on,” Graham said. “My concern. 15 percent of the Navy pointed to this guy. If he’s still standing when this is over. This is a fatal major mistake in our standing in the world. If after all this, Maduro is still in power, that’s the worst possible signal you could send to Russia, China, Iran.”
Maduro continues to deny drug trafficking allegations and accuses the administration of trying to overthrow his government.
The Pentagon will not publicly release the full video of a “double-tap” strike that killed two survivors of an alleged drug boat strike in the Caribbean in September, Defense Secretary Hegseth said.
