Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the Trump administration’s recent military operations targeting suspected drug-trafficking vessels in South America and the Pacific, following criticism from several U.S. allies.
"I don’t think the European Union gets to determine what international law is. They certainly don’t get to determine how the United States defends its national security," Rubio said Wednesday to reporters outside the G7 Summit in Canada.
"The United States is under attack from organized criminal narco-terrorists in our hemisphere, and the president is responding in defense of our country."
The strikes have reportedly resulted in at least 70 fatalities during the past two months.
On Tuesday, reports surfaced that the United Kingdom had suspended certain intelligence-sharing activities with the United States over the strikes, which London considers illegal under international law.
British officials have expressed concern about being implicated in operations they view as unlawful.
Rubio accused European governments of hypocrisy for relying on U.S. defense capabilities while criticizing American military actions closer to home.
"I find it interesting that these countries want us to send and supply, for example, nuclear-capable Tomahawk missiles to defend Europe," Rubio said. "But when the United States positions aircraft carriers in our own hemisphere, somehow that’s a problem."
The Trump administration has faced scrutiny over the legality of the strikes, asserting that the U.S. is engaged in an "armed conflict" with Latin American drug cartels linked to Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
According to defense officials, recent U.S. operations targeting drug trafficking in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific have killed at least 70 people and destroyed 19 boats across 16 separate strikes.
Earlier this month, Department of War policy officials briefed the House Armed Services Committee amid bipartisan calls for greater transparency and legal justification for the use of force in these operations.
The White House has argued that the strikes do not constitute "hostilities" under the War Powers Resolution and therefore do not require congressional authorization.
"The president has made it clear that his job is to protect the United States, and that’s exactly what he’s doing in this operation," Rubio added.
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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