The United States ruling class struck a “drug-carrying” boat in international waters on Tuesday. After the accusations surfaced of war crimes, J.D. Vance defended the decision, saying, “I don’t give a sh*t!’
Watch: Mexican Military Battles Drug Cartel Near US Border
Donald Trump ordered a strike, claiming the vessel was tied to the Tren de Aragua cartel, which he has designated as a terrorist organization. Venezuelan officials dismissed the footage as fabricated, calling it “cartoonish.”
The attack, which is an obvious war crime, took place in international waters in the southern Caribbean, killing 11 people on board.
In a post on X on Saturday, Vance praised the strike, saying that “killing cartel members who poison our fellow citizens is the highest and best use of our military.”
Social media influencer and frequent Trump critic Brian Krassenstein, however, said the quiet part out loud. Because that boat was not aligned with any military, this looks like a cut-and-dry war crime. Krassenstein challenged the attack’s legality, arguing that “killing the citizens of another nation who are civilians without any due process is called a war crime.”
“I don’t give a s**t what you call it,” Vance replied.
The strike followed the deployment of a US naval armada in the western Caribbean last month as part of Trump’s crackdown on drug trafficking. In 2020, a US court indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on charges of leading the Cartel de los Soles, an allegation he denounced as a plot to topple him. -RT
CNN reported on Friday that Trump is considering strikes against cartels inside Venezuela. The president has denied regime change plans but described the country’s 2024 election as “very strange.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Trump administration aims to carry out more violent strikes against drug cartels when he met with Ecuador’s president. This is setting a whole new precedent that reeks of a ruling class looking for an excuse to execute anyone it deems fit whenever it wants.
What are your thoughts? Was this a war crime? Should those unaffiliated with militaries be subjected to due process?