The president argued that the operation saves lives by stopping the flow of drugs into the country
US President Donald Trump has described the recent strikes on alleged drug cartel-operated vessels off Venezuela as “an act of kindness,” saying the operation helped save thousands of lives at home.
The US has destroyed at least four boats in international waters since September, as Trump continues to accuse Venezuela’s left-wing government of using “narco-terrorists” to smuggle drugs into the country.
Speaking at the US Navy’s 250th anniversary ceremony in Norfolk, Virginia, on Sunday, Trump praised the military for supporting efforts “to blow the cartel terrorists the hell out of the water.”
“It’s a pretty tough thing we’ve been doing, but you have to think of it this way. Every one of those boats is responsible for the death of 25,000 American people and the destruction of families,” he said. “So when you think of it that way, what we are doing is actually an act of kindness.”
Trump said the strikes eliminated a key sea route used to traffic fentanyl and other drugs into the US. “Nobody wants to go into the water anymore,” he said.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has rejected the allegations of running cartels, saying his government has “eliminated all major trafficking networks and vanquished prominent gangs.”
He accused Washington of using the fight against cartels as a pretext to topple his government and seize Venezuela’s natural resources.
