The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee has condemned President Trump’s deadly military strikes on boats allegedly operated by narcoterrorists, calling the actions unlawful.
Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut said Sunday that the Trump administration has failed to provide Congress with critical intelligence justifying the attacks, including details about the individuals targeted.
“They are illegal killings,” Mr. Himes said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “They are illegal killings because the notion that the United States — and this is what the administration says is their justification — is involved in an armed conflict with any drug dealers, Venezuelan drug dealers, is ludicrous.”
Mr. Trump insists the United States is engaged in an armed conflict with drug cartels, which his administration has designated as terrorist organizations.
Mr. Himes argued that the legal rationale offered by the administration would not withstand scrutiny in any court.
“There’s lots of people who have been designated terrorists,” he said. “That does not automatically give the authority to take lethal action. So their legal justifications are laughable.”
He also noted that while the Supreme Court may have granted Mr. Trump immunity in this matter, others involved in the operation — ranging from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to the individual who pulled the trigger — could still face legal consequences.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if in the next couple of years, there are presidential pardons offered to that entire chain of command,” he said.
Although he acknowledged that the individuals targeted may have been engaged in criminal activity, Mr. Himes stressed that this does not absolve the administration of its legal responsibilities.
He cited reports indicating that one of the boats had turned around before being struck.
“Firing on a fleeing enemy would be a violation of the laws of armed conflict,” he said.
