Opposition to the strikes is muted, but present:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5573...-evidence/
... and:
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5573...t-strikes/
Quote:Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly (Ariz.) said he and his fellow senators were presented with evidence “that does not back up” the Trump administration’s claims that targeted boats in the Caribbean Sea are smuggling fentanyl into the U.S.
“We were presented some evidence that does not back up the story that the White House is telling to the American people,” Kelly said to Martha Raddatz on ABC News’s “This Week.”
Since early September, President Trump has authorized military strikes on boats off the coast of Venezuela and in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the deaths of at least 43 people. The administration has alleged the vessels had fentanyl on board but has not presented public evidence of such claims.
Trump has also authorized CIA operations in Venezuela, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deployed an aircraft carrier strike group to the South American coast on Friday. The moves are part of an escalation between the U.S. and Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro, increasing tensions throughout Latin America.
They have also garnered criticism from Democrats in Congress and select Republicans. On Oct. 17, Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) backed a measure to block the strikes, after a similar resolution was voted down 51-48 by the upper chamber the week prior.
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5573...-evidence/
... and:
Quote:Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), a libertarian Republican, on Sunday said the Trump administration is carrying out “extrajudicial killings” by striking alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Paul said no evidence has been presented to Congress to justify the president’s military operations against vessels that officials say are transporting narcotics with the aim of reaching the U.S.
And even with a briefing, Paul said, Congress must authorize any war carried out by the U.S. military.
“A briefing is not enough to overcome the Constitution. The Constitution says that when you go to war, Congress has to vote on it,” Paul said in the interview, noting that “to be clear, we’ve got no information. I’ve been invited to no briefing.”
Paul recognized that during war, there are often “lower rules for engagement,” and “people do sometimes get killed without due process.”
“But the drug war … or the crime war has typically been something we do through law enforcement. And so far, they have alleged that these people are drug dealers. No one said their name. No one said what evidence. No one said whether they’re armed. And we’ve had no evidence presented.”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5573...t-strikes/
