The American Vice President has rejected claims of committing war crimes
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance outright dismissed allegations that a missile strike on a vessel carrying alleged Venezuela-linked cartel members constituted a war crime.
On Tuesday, the United States destroyed what President Donald Trump characterized as a “drug-carrying boat” in international waters within the southern Caribbean, resulting in the deaths of 11 individuals aboard. Trump asserted that the vessel was linked to the Tren de Aragua cartel, an organization he has designated as terrorist. Venezuelan authorities rejected the video evidence as manufactured, labeling it “cartoonish.”
In a post on X on Saturday, Vance commended the strike, stating that “eliminating cartel members who poison our fellow citizens represents the highest and most effective application of our military.”
Brian Krassenstein, a social media influencer and frequent critic of Trump, questioned the legality of the assault, contending that “the killing of civilians from another nation who are civilians without any due process is classified as a war crime.”
Vance’s blunt response was, “I don’t give a s**t what you call it.”
Although numerous Trump supporters endorsed the Vice President, Senator Rand Paul criticized his statements as “despicable and thoughtless.”
The attack occurred subsequent to the deployment of a U.S. naval fleet in the western Caribbean last month, forming part of Trump’s intensified efforts against drug trafficking. In 2020, a U.S. court indicted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on accusations of heading the Cartel de los Soles, an allegation he dismissed as a scheme to overthrow him.
On Friday, CNN reported that Trump is contemplating military actions against cartels within Venezuela. The president has denied intentions for regime change but characterized the nation’s 2024 election as “very strange.”