Venezuela boat strikes briefing leaves Democrats frustrated

Democrats emerged irritated and frustrated from a classified briefing Thursday on the Trump administration’s military strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and the East Pacific.

Democratic members on the House Armed Services Committee said they were not satisfied with the answers they received during the members-only classified briefing and that they were unclear on both its legality and the administration’s “end game.”

“Our job is to oversee the use of lethal force by our military outside of the United States, and I'm walking away without an understanding of how and why they're making an assessment that the use of lethal force is adequate here.” Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.), a former U.S. Army officer, told reporters after the briefing. 

“You know what I heard today was a tactical brief. I heard no strategy, no end game, no assessment of how they are going to end the flow of drugs into the United States, which needs to happen, by the way,” Crow added. 

Administration lawyers were set to explain the legal rationale for the attacks against alleged drug-smuggling vessels on both sides of South America that have killed at least 61 people, but “they canceled at the last minute,” according to Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.). 

“They just said that they can't answer these questions because the lawyers aren't here. They canceled having the lawyers here,” Moulton, a former Marine Corps officer, told reporters.

He said those doing the briefing were “some policy folks” from the administration and the deputy commander of the U.S. Southern Command (Southcom). 

“The last word that I gave to the admiral is, I hope you recognize the constitutional peril that you are in and the peril you are putting our troops in,” Moulton said. 

The latest strike occurred Wednesday, when four “narco-terrorists” were killed in a strike in the Eastern Pacific, according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. 

The military action comes as the Trump administration has signaled its intent to end the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The U.S. has amassed a massive U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, sending warships, spy planes, F-35s, at least one submarine and recently directing the USS Gerald R. Ford and its strike group to the region.

The administration has said the boat attacks are aimed at preventing fentanyl from reaching the United States, though Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) after the briefing said most of the narcotics involve cocaine.

“So they admitted that all of the narcotics coming out of this part of the world is cocaine. They, you know, talked a little bit about the connection between cocaine and fentanyl, although I'm not convinced that what they said was accurate,” Jacobs told reporters. “And I think it goes to show that this is actually not about addressing fentanyl and the deaths of Americans, which is a really huge problem that we should be addressing.” 

Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chair of the House Armed Services Commitee, said “yes” when asked if there will be more briefings. Both he and the committee's ranking member, Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.), declined to elaborate on what transpired in the briefing. 

Lawmakers who spoke to reporters after the briefing said its tone was "fairly collegial,” with Jacobs saying that Republicans were "equally frustrated with the lack of answers."

Lawmakers in both parties for weeks have asked the administration to provide a legal reasoning for the strikes and more evidence that the targeted individuals on vessels are drug traffickers. 

Anna Kelly, a spokesperson for the White House, hammered Democrats, saying they are pushing “bogus claims” about the campaign to “distract” the public from the shutdown. 

In a statement to The Hill, she said the Pentagon has held nine “bipartisan” briefings on the boat strikes and the department “individually works through requests” from lawmakers.

“It’s pathetic that these Democrats care more about running cover for foreign drug smugglers and illegal immigrants seeking taxpayer-funded health care than paying federal workers and protecting American citizens from deadly narcotics,” Kelly said. 

A senior administration official said the Pentagon has made senior officials available to answer questions about the strikes and that classified briefings have included members and staff of House and Senate leadership, House and Senate Intelligence committees, House and Senate Armed Services committees and House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, slammed the administration for holding a Wednesday evening briefing on the legality of strikes that only included GOP senators. 

“Somebody needs to be held accountable on this,” Warner said Thursday during a press conference.

“Didn’t somebody raise their hand and say, ‘Well, holy crap, where are the Democrats?’ Who was willing to say, you know, ‘Isn’t there a constitutional obligation here?’ You know it is about separation of powers,” Warner said. 

During the briefing, the administration shared an opinion drafted by Justice Department lawyers that argues the strikes are within the bounds of the law.

“If you’ve got a valid legal opinion, wouldn’t you want to share it with every member,” Warner said. 

Sen. James Risch (R-Idaho), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Democrats can ask for a briefing on intelligence matters whenever they want and praised the officials who briefed the senators. 

“Some of the people wanted to hear about the law and the president's authority, which was a minority of people,” Risch told reporters Thursday. “The other group, which I'm in, wanted to hear about, hey, how many drugs did you sink to the bottom of the sea? And they gave us information on both. It's a good briefing.” 

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close ally of President Trump, said the administration should provide the briefing to both Democrats and Republicans. 

“I think there should be a briefing of the Congress about what's going on,” Graham, who did not attend the Wednesday briefing, told reporters Thursday. 

There have been three known survivors of the strikes. Two were repatriated back to Ecuador and Colombia earlier this month. A third this week was accepted by Mexican search and rescue authorities. 

Jacobs on Thursday argued “part of why they could not actually hold or try the individuals that survived one of the attacks was because they don't have evidentiary burden.”

Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, declined to speak to reporters right after the briefing, but he released a statement later ripping the administration for not providing more information. 

“The briefing was incredible; incredible for how little information was shared, how little time the briefers stayed to answer questions, and how completely absent any credible legal rationale was for the administration's unauthorized, ongoing expansion of these strikes,” Meeks said. 

Rep. Gil Cisneros (D-Calif.) told The Hill after the briefing that the officials did not discuss what weapons systems the U.S. military is using to take out the vessels.