Vice President JD Vance has made a lot of people angry by backing a recent US airstrike of a boat that was supposed to be carrying drugs from Venezuela. Vance praised the attack on X and said he “doesn’t give a sh*t” what people call it. The strike in the Caribbean killed 11 people.
The Trump administration says that the Tren de Aragua gang, which it calls a terrorist group, was in charge of the ship. The White House argued that the strike was a way to protect itself against a terrorist group that was already recognized. Pete Hegseth, the Secretary of Defense, agreed and said, “this strike won’t be the last.”
Backlash from all over the world and at home
Experts in international law have said a lot of bad things about the strike, stating it would violate the UN Charter. People who don’t like the government have termed it a “extrajudicial killing.” The Venezuelan government has accused the US of “11 extrajudicial murders” and sent its forces into action. Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has also suggested that the US used the attack as a reason to change the regime.
People at home have spoken a lot of bad things about what Vance said. Republican Senator Rand Paul publicly lambasted Vance and questioned his views on due process. “Did he ever think about what could happen if the accused was killed right away without a trial or a lawyer?” Paul said. Mark Kelly, a Democratic senator, also spoke out against the notion. He said that US military shouldn’t have to do things that are “outside of legal boundaries.” The occurrence has led to a lot of discussion about how much power the President has to use military force against non-state actors in international waters.