Intel Democrats press Gabbard on Trump administration boat strikes
Leading Intelligence Committee Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of leaving them in the dark on strikes in the Caribbean that have killed more than 40 people, demanding information about the intelligence community’s role.
The letter requests the legal justifications for the strikes, which has targeted a series of boats the Trump administration has claimed without evidence are ferrying drugs off the coasts of Venezuela and Colombia.
“Despite our repeated requests, the intelligence committees have received virtually no information about the Intelligence Community’s support for these operations,” Rep. Jim Himes (D-Md.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), the top Democrat on each chamber’s Intelligence Committee, wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
“We have not been told which agencies are providing intelligence support, the nature of that assistance, or the amount of IC resources and personnel dedicated to this effort," they continued. "Nor have we been advised about the IC’s role in collecting and analyzing intelligence after the strikes to assess the identities of those targeted, the type and quantity of drugs that may have been onboard, and the impact of the strikes.”
The strikes have exacerbated tensions in the region, with Colombian President Gustavo Petro accusing the U.S. of murder after an operation in Colombian waters that he said killed a “lifelong fisherman.”
The deaths “are not war casualties, they are murders,” he said Friday on social media.
The lawmakers asked for more information about how the intelligence community has been involved in the military strikes, including any “post-strike assessment.”
“Good intelligence is critical to ensure that these operations do not kill innocent people with no connection to the drug trade. There have already been public reports that these strikes have killed individuals who were not affiliated with any drug trafficking organization,” they wrote.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), previously criticized the strikes, noting that similar operations carried out by the U.S. Coast Guard fail to find drugs in about a quarter of interdicted boats.
“We can’t have a policy where we just blow up ships where we don’t even know the people’s names,” or whether they actually are transporting drugs, he said earlier this month.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to request for comment.
The Trump administration has beefed up its military presence in the Caribbean, deploying warships, fighter jets and at least one nuclear-powered submarine in the region. There are about 10,000 U.S. forces supporting counternarcotics operations in the region.
On Friday, the Defense Department said it is sending USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier currently in the Mediterranean, and its carrier air wing to the U.S. Southern Command area of responsibility to help “dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and counter narco-terrorism in defense of the Homeland.”
So far, the administration’s boat strikes have killed at least 43 people, with the latest one taking place overnight. The U.S. military struck a vessel allegedly affiliated with Tren de Aragua and killed six “narco-terrorists,” according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The letter also seeks information on a Justice Department memo the White House has cited as providing legal backing for the strikes amid criticism they violate both U.S. and international law.
“That opinion has not been provided to Congress, and neither the Department of Defense nor any other executive agency has provided information about its legal analysis,” they wrote.
“To the extent that IC personnel are assisting DOD activities in this space, they must do so knowing that they are supporting legally authorized operations. Accordingly, please tell us in writing whether IC attorneys have independently analyzed the legality of these strikes.”