Washington: Republican and Democratic leaders on the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee said Friday that President Donald Trump's administration has not provided the committee with details on its anti-drug operations and legal basis that it has requested. US attacks on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean have killed dozens of people since early September, escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela.
According to Thai News Agency, in a rare move to demonstrate bipartisan cooperation on the issue, Republican Senator Roger Wicker and Democratic Senator Jack Reed said in a statement that they had not received the information requested by the government on its strategy for fighting drug cartels. Senator Vickers of Mississippi is chairman, and Senator Reed of Rhode Island is the top Democrat on the committee, which oversees the U.S. military.
The Trump administration has maintained that the target of the raid was drug trafficking syndicates, without providing evidence or publicly explaining the legal justification for the decision to attack the ships rather than intercept and arrest those aboard. President Trump has also ordered a significant military buildup in the Caribbean.
Senators Wicker and Reid said they had requested "Execute Orders" related to anti-drug operations in a letter dated September 23, and in a separate letter dated October 6, they had asked for written comments on the legal basis for these operations. The two lawmakers said as of Friday they had not received any of the requested information, but a Defense Ministry spokesman said several of the requested documents were provided to committee chairs, ranking members and officials for review yesterday. The ministry also held a fourth briefing on these operations with Senate staff yesterday.
On Friday, Trump denied he was considering an attack inside Venezuela, seemingly contradicting his own comments last week, amid growing speculation that the US may soon expand its operations related to drug trafficking.