Fred Fleitz, former National Security Council chief of staff, told Newsmax on Friday that President Donald Trump is tired of drugs from Venezuela flooding into the United States.
Appearing on “Carl Higbie: FRONTLINE,” Fleitz noted the criticism Trump has been getting for the strikes against Venezuelan ships, even from MAGA supporters upset that this is not consistent with his America First policy.
U.S. military strikes against suspected drug boats off Venezuela have killed at least 27 people, raising alarms among some legal experts and Democrats in Congress who question whether they adhere to the laws of war.
The Trump administration said the U.S. is already engaged in a war with narco-terrorist groups from Venezuela, making the strikes legitimate.
“President Trump is very angry at the huge amount of drugs coming out of Venezuela,” Fleitz said. “The drug gangs that are in our cities committing crime in Los Angeles and Chicago and New York and Miami.”
“And this is not something that he is going to stand for,” Fleitz continued. “He's adjusted his approach to stop this, this conflict, which he thinks constitutes a war against our country.”
Fleitz said the strikes send a message against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“We are not going to tolerate you sending these weapons and these drugs into our country,” Fleitz said. “And we know the Maduro government is very much behind it.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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