Trump asserts right to strike suspected Venezuelan drug vessels after US military strikes suspected drug vessels in the eastern Pacific ocean

U.S. President Donald Trump asserted yesterday, Wednesday, that his administration has the legal right to launch strikes against vessels in the Caribbean, close to the coast of Venezuela, that he claims are transporting drugs. 

He added that his administration might give notification to Congress if it decides to start striking targets on the ground.

“We’re allowed to do it,” but “if we do it on land, we may go back to Congress,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He added that his administration is “fully prepared” to begin launching strikes against what he calls drug traffickers on Venezuelan soil.

“We will hit them very hard if they are coming through land,” he said. “We’ll probably go back to Congress and explain exactly what we’re doing when we go on land. We don’t have to, but I think… I’d like to do it.”

The legality of striking vessels that the Trump administration claims are trafficking drugs in foreign or international waters is disputed by experts. Critics of his administration refer to extrajudicial killings and violations of international maritime law. Furthermore, officials of the Democratic opposition recall that the authority to declare war—which strikes on Venezuelan soil could lead to—is formally held by Congress, not the U.S. President.

Maduro: We Have 5,000 Portable Anti-Aircraft Missiles

Venezuela possesses 5,000 Russian-made portable anti-aircraft missiles that could be used to counter American threats, President Nicolás Maduro said yesterday, Wednesday.

“Every army in the world knows the power of the Igla-S, and Venezuela possesses… no less than 5,000 Igla-S,” said the Venezuelan president, as the U.S. has been carrying out strikes since September against speedboats that Washington says are transporting drugs, targeting “narcoterrorists” from the Latin American country, as they claim, and U.S. President Donald Trump leaves open the possibility of ordering strikes against land targets.

The originally Soviet-designed portable missiles (MANPADS) referred to by President Maduro are manufactured by the Russian company KBM. They are believed to have an effective range reaching a height of up to 6 kilometres; they are generally used against low-altitude targets.