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Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the military’s actions in the Caribbean Sept. 2 were “entirely appropriate” after getting a classified video about the two strikes on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat.
“The individuals on that vessel were not helpless castaways. They were drug runners on a capsized drug boat and, by all indications, attempting to recover it so they could continue pushing drugs to kill Americans,” Johnson told reporters.
“What the video shows is that these individuals were there. They were able-bodied, they were not injured and they were attempting to recover the contents of the boat, which was full of narcotics.”
He said there was “another vessel” in close proximity that the two survivors were “waving their arms” toward so that they could continue onward with “their mission.”
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“This is a great threat to us. Every one of these boats that is capsized saves tens of thousands of American lives. This is what the president has prioritized. I think he’s done it with the expectation and the consent of the American people,” Johnson argued.
“I’m satisfied with the intelligence, with the way that this was conducted. I think it was entirely appropriate. I think Admiral Bradley is one of the most honorable men serving in the U.S. military. His credentials are exceptional. He’s a man of great integrity, and they followed the law very carefully and closely here.”
He said of the second strike specifically, “It followed the law. It followed protocol. It followed our previous missions like this. … I’m fully confident that it was done the right way.”
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The White House confirmed earlier this month that two strikes were fired at a boat allegedly ferrying drugs from Venezuela. A second strike was conducted after the initial hit left two survivors.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters earlier this month that he watched the first strike live but did not learn of the second strike until later, having left for a meeting in between.
The White House said the strike was ordered by Adm. Frank M. Bradley, commander of the United States Special Operations Command.
Republicans and Democrats have had vastly different reactions to the strikes, with President Donald Trump’s critics on the left accusing his administration of possibly committing a war crime.
Republicans, meanwhile, have largely said the military acted within its rightful scope.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Ala., has signaled he was satisfied with the information he’s received so far while the top Democrat on the panel, Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said Thursday the probe was “far from over.”
The Senate Armed Services Committee is conducting its own probe into the matter.
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