Secretary of state justifies military strike that killed 11, says traffickers will not operate freely
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended continued military action Wednesday against suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, calling them "imminent threats" to American security.
Rubio defended a recent US military strike on a boat allegedly operated by the Venezuela-based Tren de Aragua criminal organization that killed 11 people in international waters.
"If you're on a boat full of cocaine or fentanyl, whatever, headed to the United States, you're an immediate threat to the United States," Rubio told reporters alongside Mexican Foreign Secretary Juan Ramon de la Fuente in Mexico City.
Rubio characterized drug cartels as traffickers of "people" and "deadly drugs," and other contraband who "use the money that they generate to destabilize governments in the region," which "poses a threat to the United States."
He said President Donald Trump has authority as commander in chief to "eliminate some imminent threats to the United States" under "exigent circumstances."
"That's what he did yesterday in international waters, and that's what he intends to do," he said.
- Traditional interdiction methods fail
Rubio argued that traditional interdiction methods have proven ineffective against drug trafficking, stating the US has "long, for many, many years, established intelligence" to stop drug boats but "it doesn't work."
He said cartels calculate losses into their business model, knowing "they're going to lose 2% of their cargo" and "bake it into their economics."
“What will stop them is, when you blow them up, you get rid of them," said Rubio.
He warned traffickers against operating freely in Caribbean waters. "We're not going to sit back anymore and watch these people sail up and down the Caribbean like a cruise ship," Rubio said. "They're not going to bring drugs into the United States. We're going to stop them."
Tensions between the Trump administration and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro have recently escalated after the US deployed a naval group to the southern Caribbean. The US claims the force is there to combat criminal cartels and drug trafficking.
The deployment followed an increased reward of $50 million for information leading to Maduro's arrest.
