Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) told people they need to believe the White House when it says the military is only targeting “narco-terrorists” with its strikes on small boats in international waters.
Legislators have been calling for more oversight into the anti-drug trafficking operations, which the Trump administration initiated without congressional approval in early September.
Since September, at least 15 strikes have taken place in both the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean, reportedly resulting in over 60 deaths.
Both Republicans and Democrats have asked the government for more information about the strikes, including what evidence they have linking the boats to drug smuggling or terrorist organization, as well as what legal justification they have for U.S. forces attacking a foreign vessel in international waters.
But Johnson dismissed his congressional colleagues’ concerns during an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” telling host Shannon Bream the Defense Department’s actions were based on “exquisite intelligence,” though he did not offer specific examples.
Johnson added that all lawmakers had been briefed appropriately, saying, “I do know that my Democrat counterparts would come out of any hearing with the administration and say it was inadequate. I mean, it’s politics.”
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On Saturday night, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a strike in the Caribbean had killed three alleged drug smugglers with links to a “Designated Terrorist Organization” he did not name.
“These narco-terrorists are bringing drugs to our shores to poison Americans at home—and they will not succeed,” he warned on X. “The Department will treat them EXACTLY how we treated Al-Qaeda. We will continue to track them, map them, hunt them, and kill them.”