ABC News Daily Why Trump keeps blowing up Venezuelan boats
Oct 7, 2025
Rachel Van Landingham, a former active-duty judge advocate and current law professor, dives into the controversial U.S. military strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats. She highlights the troubling implications of defining drug cartels as 'narco-terrorists' and explains why lethal military action is legally questionable. Rachel argues that interdiction and prosecution should be the norm instead. She links U.S. drug demand to systemic healthcare issues and warns that this policy could lead to dangerous precedents and extrajudicial actions on U.S. soil.
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U.S. Strikes On Boats In International Waters
- The U.S. military has been ordered to lethally strike boats in international waters alleged to carry drugs from Venezuela.
- These strikes have killed multiple people despite no clear imminent threat at the time of attack.
Explosive Footage Presented As Evidence
- Video footage of a strike shows a vessel exploding and burning, and the administration claims drugs spattered into the ocean.
- The public evidence presented so far remains limited to these visual clips and social media assertions.
Labeling Enables Expanded Use Of Force
- The administration labels suspects 'narco-terrorists' but provides very little public evidence for that claim.
- Declaring an armed conflict against cartels lets the president authorize lethal force based on identity rather than imminent threat.